The NFL’s annual owner meetings have produced a handful of significant rule changes after a vote by ownership on a number of proposals from teams and the competition committee.
Among them include approval of the proposal to eliminate the hip drop tackle, which garnered attention after injuries to some players and has sparked plenty of controversy as, unlike the horse collar, it figures to be much more difficult to legislate out. It is used frequently by defenders as a legitimate tackling technique that avoids the previous points of emphasis on not hitting players in the head or dragging them down from up high, and the NFLPA even put out a statement requesting it not be removed.
Beyond that, there are now more reviewable plays — a passer’s knee being down before throwing a pass and the game clock being at 0:00 before a snap (not the play clock, crucially) — and a massive kickoff change that is attracting most of the attention.
Here are the approved 2024 playing rules, bylaws and resolutions pic.twitter.com/xREJb7M1Mq
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 26, 2024
The NFL will enact the XFL model that places the kicker back at the 35, a returner (or two) between the goal line and the 20, and the other 19 or 20 players on the field lined up within 5-10 yards of each other. The kicking team’s players will all line up on the opposing 40, while the receiving team can have players between the 30-35, limiting high speed collisions. The players can move once the ball hits the ground or when it’s fielded.
Kicking off a new era: Owners just approved the NFL Hybrid Kickoff rule, per source.
After years of tweaks turned one of the game’s most exciting moments into a “dead, ceremonial play”, the league hopes this overhaul will yield what it wants: fewer injuries and more returns. pic.twitter.com/jHLAjZJm0z
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 26, 2024
In practice, it looks like this.
Here’s what the new NFL kickoff will look like this season: pic.twitter.com/vtR5bqGZLK
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 26, 2024
The idea is to create more returns, something the NFL wants desperately after the new touchback rule led to a steep dropoff, without the risk of the massive collisions we used to see with players flying downfield at each other. The touchback rule also changes, as there are no fair catches but a touchback that hits the endzone gets brought out to the 30, not the 25, encouraging kickers to thread the needle and put the ball in a returnable spot.
I personally enjoyed the XFL kickoff in the brief time period in which the XFL existed before the merger to become the UFL. It will take some time for NFL players to adjust, and you can bet teams are going to have to spend a lot of time working on their new coverage and blocking technique in camp this year. That said, it does keep the return a part of the game, albeit in a different format, and once fans get past the immediate “change is bad” reaction that always happens, I think it’ll be mostly a positive.
There are tradeoffs though, and this will kill the surprise onside kick. That’s not a frequent thing in the NFL, but it is a bit of a shame to lose that element of surprise, as you now must declare you are going for an onside kick beforehand to let the other team get their personnel out there. Still, onside kicks were already dying out and the league opted to keep the return game alive over onside kicks.