The powers-that-be in the NFL have been considering rule changes around kickoff returns, but they’re not doing away with them.
The National Football League has been perplexed about what to do with kickoffs in recent years.
Concerns about injuries, which occur at frequent rates on kickoffs given the vulnerable position it puts a returner in, have forced some changes already, including moving the starting spot for kickoffs and otherwise. However, what is not up for debate, at least not right now, is the outright removal of the play from the game.
Troy Vincent, NFL Executive Vice President, recently spoke before a two-day safety summit for the league about potential changes being discussed, but he also made it clear that the kickoff return is not going away—at least for 2018 and maybe beyond.
"“There’s no question that this is not about getting [the kickoff] out of the game,” Vincent said. “It’s about enhancing it.”"
The goal of this week’s gathering is to make the play (and the entire league) safer moving forward, but returns are a part of the game and the league seems intent on keeping it intact, at least on the macro level.
That’s good news for specific players on the Kansas City Chiefs, whose very roster spots might be in jeopardy if the NFL were to make any such changes. Consider the value shift for a running back like Akeem Hunt or Kerwynn Williams or a wideout like De’Anthony Thomas. Would the Chiefs really have all three of those players on the current active roster, even with a 90-man limit? It’s unlikely.
Punt returns are already handled by Tyreek Hill, the team’s top wide receiver, and so perhaps there’d be a need for one other player to handle those. But a plethora of returners would be an unwanted luxury. Every NFL team would likely rather have an extra offensive or defensive lineman than they would an extra returner. Without kickoff returns, the job security for each of these names (and others like them dotting every roster in the NFL) would plummet considerably.
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At least for now, the Chiefs will need candidates to return kicks because the league isn’t dropping the play for at least another year. That should buy at least one or two Chiefs another year of gainful employment.