NFL preseason games are typically nothing more than an opportunity for players to showcase their skills in hopes of making the final roster, but there is a reason the exhibition contests may hold more significance to teams this year.
The NFL has completely revamped the kickoff play for 2024. The new format is designed to encourage returns while limiting the risk of injury. As New York Jets special teams coordinator Brant Boyer said this week, the new rules are “a huge unknown.” That is why preseason games could be more important than ever in 2024.
“It’s kind of a wait-and-see kind of deal, and you see what fits and what works and what kicks are best and who’s doing it, all that stuff. I think there’s a huge unknown, to be honest with you,” Boyer said, via Brian Costello of the New York Post. “We’ve done nothing but study and study and study, and been in here almost every day, to be honest with you, trying to figure out what’s going to work best, but nobody knows until you strap it up and the preseason games start.”
Under the new XFL-style kickoff rules, 10 players on the kicking team and at least 9 players on the receiving team must line up 5 yards apart from one another. The 10 players on the kicking team will line up at the receiving team’s 40-yard line. The non-returners on the return team will line up in the “setup zone” between their own 35- and 30-yard line.
The kicker will still kick off from his own 35-yard line, but other players are not permitted to move until the ball either reaches or is picked up by a player in the landing zone, which is defined as the area between the receiving team’s 20-yard line and the goal line.
You can see a video that shows what the new kickoffs will look like here.
Teams have been open about the significant changes they might have to make with the new rules, and the preseason will be an opportunity for them to experiment with those strategies.
