With the NFL season finally underway on Thursday, Sept. 7, now’s a good a time as any to revisit a very signifiant rule change made during the offseason, which will debut in the Chiefs–Lions matchup.
In May, NFL owners approved a change that will now see the ball placed at the 25-yard line if it is fair caught behind the 25-yard line after a free kick (safety or kickoff). Before the rule change, the ball would be placed at wherever the fair catch was made. The change is only for this year as of now.
This is the latest move within the sport to limit kick returns due to the heightened dangers of running full speed at opposing teams. NFL chairman of the NFL’s competition committee Rich McKay cited increased concussions as the reason for the move and said that college football was the inspiration for the change made over the summer.
“The kickoff play for us has been a play that has had a lot of changes for us over the years, all really driven by health and safety,” he told NFL Network in May. “The concussion rate on the play has gone up. It’s gone up because the ball is being returned more by kicks that are being hung inside the 5-yard line. College made this rule change in maybe 2018 or 2019. We looked at their data and said, you know what, this is the right thing to do now.”
It’s likely that the new kickoff rule will be on full display Thursday when the reigning champion Chiefs square off against the Lions on NBC at 8:30 p.m. ET. Kick returners may think twice when seeing the ball hang just a bit too long.
