Ravens kicker Justin Tucker bulking up for new kickoff rules - ESPN

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The NFL's new kickoff rule has altered the workout routine for the league's most accurate kicker.

Justin Tucker said he has noticed that XFL kickers have been involved in 25% of the tackles with the revamped kickoff play, which has led him to add a few pounds.

«This might be really surprising to a lot of you guys and a lot of my teammates because I don't hang out in the weight room too frequently,» Tucker said after the Baltimore Ravens' offseason practice Thursday. «Now I got to get some more shrugs, get the traps going a little bit, just to make sure I'm prepared for a little bit more contact.»

Asked whether he plans to add more muscle, Tucker said, «I have put on, like, 3.8 pounds. Can you guys tell? Probably not. But yeah, I'll leave it at that.»

In March, NFL owners approved the massive change in kickoffs with a vote of 29-3. Under the new rule, which originated in the XFL, kickers will continue to kick from their own 35-yard line but the other 10 players on the kickoff team will line up at the receiving team's 40-yard line, which is 5 yards from the return team. The kickers will represent the last line of defense.

Tucker, a seven-time Pro Bowl kicker, has made eight tackles in 195 games. His most recent tackle came Dec. 17, 2022.

«I don't think [tackling is] necessarily something that is encouraged [for kickers], but it's not discouraged either,» Tucker said. «It kind of just comes with a territory. It's a football play. We're all football players out there, and ultimately if a returner is beelining toward the end zone and I'm the last guy there to stop him, it is part of my job description.»

Tucker, 34, is the most accurate kicker in NFL history, converting 90.2% of his attempts (395 of 438).