The NFL is changing the rules for kickoffs for the upcoming season.
Team owners voted to approve a resolution that allows players to fair catch on kickoffs with the ball being placed at the team’s own 25-yard line.
The NFL said the new rule specifies that the fair catch off a free kick (safety or kickoff) must occur behind the team’s 25-yard line in order for the ball to be placed at the 25.
The rule change will be for one year only, with the league citing “player safety” as a reason for its proposal.
“We needed to do something,” Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL’s competition committee, said. “We just can’t sit there and ignore that data.”
KIRO Newsradio’s Gee Scott told Seattle’s Morning News the move is a good one.
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He believes kickoffs may disappear completely in the NFL.
“These guys are going down there trying to block against guys, big guys that are getting running starts, and most kickoff returns don’t amount to much anyway,” Gee said. “Do I believe that this is the future, like at some point, they are going to get rid of kickoffs? Yes, yes, I do.”
Listen to the full discussion with Gee, Dave Ross, and Heather Bosch in the video above.
Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5 – 9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
