NFL owners approve new kickoff rules

With the changes, we should see more returns off kickoffs in 2024.

At the NFL’s annual league meeting on Tuesday, the owners approved a change to kickoffs for the 2024 season. The goal is to promote returns, bring back some excitement to special teams, and improve player safety.

It is drastically different than what has been done in the past. It penalizes teams more than in the past for simply kicking the ball out of the end zone, decreases the distance for collisions and promotes returns.

Here is the rundown of what new kickoffs will look like.

  • The kicking team will kick off from its own 35-yard line.
  • 10 members of the kicking team will line up on the receiving team’s 40-yard line (25 yards in front of their kicker).
  • A minimum of nine members of the receiving team will line up between their own 30- and 35-yard lines (five-to-10 yards in front of the 10 members of the kicking team).
  • The receiving team can have zero, one or two players inside their own 30-yard line to receive the kickoff.
  • The play begins when the ball is either caught, hits the ground in the landing zone (inside the 20-yard line before the goal line) or is returned from the end zone. That’s when players can begin moving.
  • Any kick that hits the landing zone must be returned.
  • Any kick that bounces from the landing zone into the end zone must be returned or kneeled for a touchback (with possession going out to the 20-yard line).
  • If a kick doesn’t reach the landing zone, the receiving team gets possession at its 40-yard line.
  • If the ball enters the end zone in the air, the receiving team can return it or kneel it for possession at its 30-yard line.
  • If the ball is kicked out of bounds, the receiving team gets possession at its 40-yard line.
  • There are no fair catches.
  • Onside kicks are only permitted in the fourth quarter when a team is trailing and must be declared to officials

The Cardinals have not gotten much in the return game for years. Their last kickoff return for a touchdown was by David Johnson in 2015.

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