Travis Kelce declared the new NFL kickoff rule is “exciting” despite originally being vehemently against the change.
Following rule changes regarding kickoffs ahead of the 2023 season inspired by health and safety, just 22 percent of kickoffs were returned – including none in the Super Bowl.
As a result, earlier this offseason, owners approved the hybrid kickoff model at the NFL’s Annual League Meeting.
With the new rule, kickers will still kick off from their 35-yard line.
However, the other 10 members of the kicking team will line up at the opposing team’s 40-yard line
while the return team has at least nine blockers lined up in the “set up zone” between the 30- and 35-yard line, with at least seven of those players touching the 35.
There are two returners allowed inside the 20, and only they along with the kicker are allowed to move until either the ball hits the ground or is touched by a returner inside the 20.
Kelce was originally opposed to the rule change, but he has come around after seeing it in action in the preseason.
“I’m so excited for it. I think it’s fun,” the Kansas City Chiefs tight end said on his “New Heights” podcast to brother and co-host Jason. “I was so against it. I was so against it. Remember, we were talking about it they were changing and I was like, ‘I don’t like it. It’s the ceremonial football, it’s the first thing – it’s what happens in football. It’s like war like both sides, old school war, just like running. Charge!”
When Jason claimed the NFL was not going to let the old kickoffs continue, Travis added: “Yeah, and honestly, it’s still electric. The guy with the ball is still hitting it as hard as he can. I’m not going to name a guy, but I saw a guy almost get his head ripped off, and it was a flag on us.
“And I got so excited that I forgot whose team I was on, and was just like ‘Wooo! That’s football!’ It’s exciting.”
The new kickoff rule is modeled after the XFL’s kickoff rule, which was created to encourage more returns and decrease injuries on kickoffs. The NFL is hoping that the new kickoff rule will have a similar result in 2024 and beyond.
“This is our chance to keep special teams in the game,” NFL Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay said in May. “Special teams has been a part of the game forever. And, if you lose the kickoff, in our mind, you really pretty much eliminated special teams and put it on a punt play.”
The NFL will implement the new kickoff rule on a one-year basis, allowing the league to either renew the rule or scrap it for 2025. The new kickoff will be on display for the first time in the regular season when Kelce’s Chiefs take on the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 5.
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Source: USA Today
