NFL owners to consider kickoff change, hip-drop tackle ban - ESPN

The NFL's competition committee proposed a revamped kickoff Wednesday that resembles the alignment used in the XFL during its 2020 and 2023 seasons, one of a series of high-profile changes owners will consider next week at their annual league meeting.

The committee also offered a rule that would prohibit the hip-drop tackling technique.

The kickoff proposal would be the most significant on-field rule change for the NFL in years and are designed to reverse more than a decade of declining return rates while also lowering concussion rates. In essence, the committee's proposal would move the majority of the kicking and return teams downfield to minimize high-speed collisions. If approved by at least 24 of 32 owners, the rule would go into effect for one year only.

The placekicker would continue to kick from the 35-yard line, but the other 10 players would line up at the receiving team's 40-yard line. At least nine members of the return team would line up in a «set-up zone» between the 35- and 30-yard line. Up to two returners can line up in a «landing zone» between the goal line and the 20-yard line. No one other than the kicker and returner(s) can move until the ball hits the ground or a player inside the landing zone. Touchbacks would be marked at the 35-yard line, and no fair catches would be allowed.

In the event a team wants to attempt an onside kick, it would have to inform officials of its intent and would then be allowed to use the NFL's traditional formation. No surprise onside kicks would be allowed.

The proposal follows the structure and philosophy of the XFL version with a slight shift in where the players are aligned. In the XFL, they lined up further downfield, between the returning team's 30- and 35-yard