Competition Committee discussed XFL kickoff, will hold further discussions this week
One of the issues the NFL Competition Committee will deal with this offseason is the future of the kickoff and those discussions include the possibility of taking a page from the XFL.
The spring league, which merged with the USFL to form the UFL, lined up 10 players from the kicking team on the receiving team's 35-yard-line and 10 players from the receiving team on the 30 with no one permitted to move until the returner had the ball. That created more returns than we've seen in the NFL in recent seasons while limiting the kind of high-speed collisions that have led to a higher rate of concussions on kickoffs than other plays.
Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay said on Sunday that the group could come up with a proposal for something similar because they need to be creative if they want to keep the kickoff in the game.
"We have to be open-minded enough to say can we bring plays back in the game that have gone out of the game," McKay said, via Judy Battista of NFL Media.
PFT reported recently that the XFL kickoff is unlikely to get the approval of the 24 teams needed to change the rule and McKay said the committee will continue to discuss the kickoffs in meetings at the Scouting Combine this week.
