NFL to Explore Rule Changes, Training Requirements to Address Special Teams Injuries

More changes reportedly could be coming to NFL kickoffs and punts after an uptick in special teams injuries this season.

According to ESPN's Kevin Seifert, the league "has issued a significant call to action in response to disproportionately high injury rates on special teams." Seifert stated that rule changes and new training requirements are among the solutions that the league is exploring.

As part of the NFL's annual health and safety meeting with reporters covering Super Bowl LVI, the league reported that while concussions continue to decrease overall, they still occur more often on punts and kickoffs. 

Per Seifert, chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said that one in six NFL concussions happened on special teams this past season. Sills added that special teams plays accounted for 30 percent of ACL tears and 29 percent of lower extremity muscle injuries, which has raised the level of concern surrounding these plays.

"Those numbers require 'our attention immediately' Sills said, because special teams only represent a 17 percent of plays in a typical NFL game," Seifert wrote.

The league had already made amendments to kickoffs and punts in recent years. In 2018, kickoffs were adjusted to eliminate the running starts of cover men and remove most double-team blocks. The following year, the league eliminated most blindside blocks in a move that was expected to improve the safety of punts.

The NFL began efforts to reduce concussions across the league beginning in 2018. This season, there was a total of 187 concussions in practices and games, including the preseason. That number is down from 214 in 2018 and 224 in 2019.

"We are pleased with the concussion numbers, but we feel it's not the full picture and we really want to aggressively reduce and work to eliminate avoidable head contact," Sills said.