The NFL introduced the dynamic kickoff prior to the start of the 2024 season, taking a page out of the XFL’s playbook.
But the new kickoff formations have not exactly led to increased returns.
Front Office Sports noted that only 29.1% of kickoffs have been returned this season — only about 7% more than what it was during the 2023 season.
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New Orleans Saints cornerback Rico Payton, left, and linebacker Khaleke Hudson wait for a kickoff against the Carolina Panthers during the game at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sept. 8. (Stephen Lew-Imagn Images)
Former President Trump sounded off on the new kickoff rules in an interview with OutKick founder Clay Travis on Saturday.
“Big time college football is as big as the NFL,” he said. “I don’t know what they’re doing with the kickoff return in the NFL. And I don’t want to get involved in controversy, of course, but it looks so bad.
“And I noticed that they hadn’t done that in college, and they shouldn’t do it,” he said. “And I think the NFL should go back. And maybe it is a little bit more dangerous, but I doubt that it’s any more dangerous. It’s football.”
The NFL kickoff logo is seen before a game between the Washington Commanders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on Sept. 8. (Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)
“I think they made a terrible mistake in doing that,” he said.
On Tuesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suggested changes could be coming to the rules. He noted that moving touchbacks up 5 yards could also be in play.
“I think we’ll have to make a few changes on the kickoff that will, I think, lead to a lot more kickoff returns,” Goodell said on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell looks on before the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles at Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 6. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
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He added that a competition committee meeting will be held next week.
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