BEREA — It may be one of the most transformative rules in the NFL in years. However, very few in the league actually know what impact it's going to have on the game.
That's the reaction to the new kickoff rule the league owners passed last month by those who hope to utilize it to win games. That includes Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, who acknowledged this week just how much time he and his staff have spent trying to learn the rule.
"We've spent a lot of time on that," Stefanski said as the Browns opened their offseason program. "(Special teams coordinator) Bubba (Ventrone), myself, (assistant special teams coordinator) Steven Bravo-Brown, (consultant Mike) Vrabel has helped in this as well because we're all trying to understand this hybrid kickoff. It's new for everybody.
"So, we look at that as a great opportunity in this league to add an exciting play for this game, and it's another touch for an offensive player. It's another opportunity to get a tackle for a defensive player or an offensive player on special teams. We're excited about what it is, but we're working through it. I don't think anybody in the league can tell you exactly how it's going to look, but that's an opportunity for us so we've spent a lot of time on the board with it."
The rule has essentially been cribbed from the XFL, with some modifications through a series of conversations with special teams coordinators around the league. It essentially tries to turn the kickoff into more of a "football play," starting with the alignment of the players who are neither the kicker — who will still kick off from the 35-yard line — nor the "up to" two return men aligned deep.
The other 10 players on the kickoff team and the other nine or 10 players on the return team have their own set space in which they can be aligned. Those on the kickoff team must line up on the return team's 40, while the non-return men will be aligned between their 30 and the 35, with at least seven required to be along the 35.
The only two players allowed to move before the ball touching the ground or being fielded by the returner are the kicker and the returners. That must occur inside the 20.
"Bubba's been in the indoor [facility], literally with a helmet on, taking drops, which is true," Stefanski said. "So we want to be as prepared as we can be. But I don't know that there's any club that knows exactly how it's going to look."
If the kick reaches the end zone in the air, it can be returned or the receiving team can opt for a touchback and possession at the 30. Kicks that reach the end zone in the air and go out of bounds or out of the end zone also will result in a touchback at the 30.
The Browns had 11 total kickoff returns last regular season, compared to 41 during the 2022 season. They had 37 kickoff returns in the 2014 season, and 70 in the 2010 season, which was before the 2011 rule change that moved the kickoff up from the 30 to the 35.
"Truth is none of us will really know until we get into it," general manager Andrew Berry said Thursday. "I mean, we've watched a ton of XFL film. Even though it's not the same design, we've had a lot — I think Kevin mentioned probably earlier this week — how much time they've put into it. … And I'm sure we're going to learn a lot as we get into the preseason and then the regular season with the new rule."
The goal of the rule change is to increase the number of kickoff returns in the game. Last season, a league-low 21.8% of all kicks were returned, with just four kickoffs being returned for touchdowns.
A year prior, in 2022, the return rate was 37.5%. The XFL, meanwhile, had a 97% return rate on kickoffs in its 2023 season.
"In all honesty, rules are rules, ball is ball, so whatever rules they give us I'm ready to go out there and play," linebacker Tony Fields II said Tuesday. "I've looked at it. We know it's going to be a lot, maybe a little bit less physical, but a lot more hands-on and you have to start being a lot more technical with your skillset, but otherwise I'm not really worried about it. I can't wait for it."
Fields has been one of the top special teams players for the Browns since being drafted in 2021. The 6-foot, 220-pound linebacker has been the mold for the kind of player who has been heavily utilized on both kickoff and kickoff return teams over the last several years.
However, the rule changes open the door to a change in the kind of players teams prefer on those kick teams.
"I think the style of returner will change ever so slightly," Berry said. "I think the blocking schemes that you see on kick return will be different, and I think the body type for kickoff coverage players is going to potentially change pretty significantly because you're taking a lot of speed and space out of the traditional play. I think you're going to probably see bigger body types, guys that are really good with their hands and that can, I would say, traditionally get off blocks as opposed to maybe use their speed and quickness to avoid a block just because of the setup rules.
"But I'd say that's maybe more of a working hypothesis than let's say a stated fact."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns trying to understand new kickoff rule impact on game, roster
