The new NFL kickoff rules have been a hot topic since the NFL owners voted to make a major change.
One kicker has another rule he’d like to propose.
“I’ve got an idea for a fun rule,” Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson told the official team website. “If you kick it through the uprights, make that four points. And if you miss, they get it at the 30.”
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Evan McPherson of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrates after kicking a field goal in the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium Jan. 7, 2024, in Cincinnati. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
McPherson knows this isn’t something NFL owners will be approving anytime soon, especially considering the goal of this new change to kickoffs is to encourage more returns instead of touchbacks.
However, points for kickoffs have been suggested before.
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh once suggested one point should be awarded to a team whose kicker knocks the ball through the uprights on a kickoff.
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“I’m on record advocating that should be a point,” Harbaugh, who has one of the game’s best kickers, Justin Tucker, said in 2016. “I’m serious now, kinda. Really, how exciting would that make it for [Tucker] to make these kickoff touchbacks so valuable?”
Kickers are allowed to get a running start from the 35-yard line on kickoffs, and there are many instances when they put the ball through the uprights.
Evan McPherson (2) of the Cincinnati Bengals kicks a field goal during pregame warmups before a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium Dec. 31, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (Ryan Kang/Getty Images)
The league’s new kickoff rule comes from the XFL’s idea of the special teams play, where the ball is kicked off from the 35-yard line and the other 10 members of the kicking team line up at the opposing 40-yard line. Five players will be lined up on each side of the field.
The return team will have at least nine blockers lined up in the “set up zone” between the 30- and 35-yard lines. At least seven of those players will be touching the 35-yard line, while two returners will be allowed inside their own 20-yard line.
Only the kicker and two returners would be allowed to move until either the ball hits the ground or is touched by a returner inside the 20-yard line. A kick that reaches the end zone in the air can be returned or the returning team can opt for a touchback, which would put the offense at the 30-yard line. A ball that goes through the end zone will result in a touchback.
As a kicker, McPherson knows his entire process leading up to the 2024 campaign needs to change.
“I might have to make more tackles. I’ve got to get in the tackling line now,” McPherson said. “It takes away from the skills us kickers have.”
Evan McPherson of the Cincinnati Bengals warms up before a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium Dec. 4, 2023, in Jacksonville, Fla. (Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images)
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The kickoff rule will be considered a trial in the 2024 season and subject to renewal in 2025.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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