The NFL says the new “dynamic” kickoff rule is designed to reduce the number of injuries on kickoffs while increasing the excitement of the play. On at least the former, the league says there are early signs of success.
NFL Executive V.P. for health and safety Jeff Miller said today that a comparison of injury rates in the 2024 and 2023 preseason shows that players who can’t get off to a running start don’t suffer as many serious injuries.
“The injury rate dropped dramatically,” Miller said. “The average player speed on the dynamic kickoff was about 20 percent slower than the kickoff in the previous year . . . That led to a decreased injury rate.”
Miller said there were no ACL or MCL injuries on preseason kickoffs. He did acknowledge the news wasn’t as good on concussions in the preseason.
“We saw a couple more concussions on the dynamic kickoff than we thought we would see,” Miller said. “In the regular season we haven’t seen any concussions in the first three weeks of the dynamic kickoff in the regular season.”
However, in the regular season touchbacks haven’t declined by much, as teams are deciding it just isn’t worth it to risk the opponent getting the long return. Last year 73 percent of kickoffs went for touchbacks compared to 68 percent this year, and Miller said that even a small decline in touchbacks is an indication that the play is getting more exciting.
Next year the league may move the touchback up to the 35-yard line, which would incentivize kicking teams not to boot the ball into the end zone and would increase the number of returns.
