Could a new rule cost Kene Nwangwu a roster spot?
Having a dynamite returner is a really nice luxury on your roster. The Minnesota Vikings have seen their fair share of talented kick returners play for them. From Percy Harvin to Cordarrelle Patterson and Marcus Sherels, there have been some really dynamic returners over the last 15 years to wear the purple and gold.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, a rule change could potentially hinder the kick return game even more. With the spring meetings happening at TCO Performance Center this week, they could implement the college football kickoff rule. That states that a fair catch inside the 25-yard line would be considered a touchback. That would automatically place the ball at the 25-yard line.
The proposal was in response to an uptick in concussions on kickoffs over the last three seasons—with 10 such concussions happening in 2020, 14 in ’21 and 19 last season.
Would that put kick returner Kene Nwangwu’s job in jeopardy? It very well could. Over his first two seasons, Nwangwu has only played 47 snaps on offense and hasn’t shown any aptitude to be a weapon on offense. Without any value on offense and his value as a kick returner devalued even more, could the Vikings cut the former second-team All-Pro?
In my first 53-man roster prediction, I didn’t have Nwangwu making the team due to his lack of versatility on offense. If this passes, the same could happen come end of August.
