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NFL approves new fair-catch kickoff return rules for 2023 Winners and losers from upcoming one-year trial

Kickoffs will look different in the for the 2023 season, with the Road Ryan Switzer Women Jersey league approving Tuesday a . Under the refined regulations, kick returners can now signal for a fair catch anywhere inside their own 25-yard line, resulting in a touchback that starts the ensuing po se sion at the 25.Again, the changes are not permanent. At least not yet. But that doesn't mean they won't have a heavy influence on specific players, roles and game preparation for the 2023 campaign. With that in mind, here are some instant winners and losers from the adjustment:Think what you will about whether the NFL truly prioritizes player health as a whole, but there's little denying the new rules will reduce the po sibility of violent collisions. The league first began incentivizing non-returns on kickoffs by moving touchbacks from the 20 to the 25 in 2016, but this addition doubles down on that approach. Will every returner embrace the built-in advantage? Of course not. But over time, Ereck Flowers Women Jersey it's easy to see why this could -- and should -- remove some of the game's biggest moments of contact.Kick returns can be some of the biggest momentum-shifters in the game, provided they're planned and executed properly. But incentivizing their reduced Eric Fisher Jersey impact means removing some of the tangible influence of special teams coaches. Already, commi sioner Roger Goodell acknowledged this week, there's been pushback from coaches who've made a living off these types of plays. can claim a small victory here, inspiring the NFL trial that could pave the way for a permanent rule change. The NCAA starting in 2018, citing improved player safety on touchbacks, and the data on kickoff-related injuries since then played a direct role in the NFL adopting the changes.As this week, the NFL is "certainly trending toward eliminating kickoffs (altogether), even though that's not how the league wanted to frame it publicly." The new rules make it so that, in an ideal world, most kickoffs will result in touchbacks, Darqueze Dennard Men Jersey which means kickoffs as a whole won't carry nearly as much excitement or, for lack of a better term, purpose. A total elimination is probably a ways off, considering how many jobs it might affect, but if the goal is to both save time and better player health, while getting on with the offense vs. defense gameplay that propels fan engagement, it doesn't feel far-fetched for the future. If most teams take advantage of the rules, they'll enjoy better field positioning on the po se sions following kickoffs. Ever since the NFL moved touchbacks to the 25, players who've attempted to will their way to a better spot have tended to end up in worse position; the hasn't exceeded 22.9 yards since 2016. It stands to reason, then, that those who buy into Colin Kaepernick Youth Jersey the change rather than actively resist it will see better results for their own offensive output.