NFL Reports Only 1 Concussion on Kickoffs Through 6 Weeks After 2024 Rule Change

Only one NFL player has suffered a concussion during a kickoff through Week 6 of the 2024 season, the league said on Tuesday (h/t NFL.com's Judy Battista).

That's a lower injury rate than the league reported on the play in 2023. Eight concussions were suffered during kickoffs last season, as previously reported by the NFL.

During the 2022 campaign, 20 concussions were reported on the play.

The decline has come despite an increase in kickoff returns this season. NFL VP of football operations Troy Vincent said that 32 percent of kickoffs have been returned through six weeks, compared to 17 percent during the same span in 2023, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.

The NFL's report is an early sign of success for the new kickoff rules implemented ahead of the 2024 season, which moved touchbacks from the 25-yard line to the 30-yard line.

This rule change, which followed the NFL's decision to rule any fair catch within the 25-yard line a touchback before the 2023 season, is designed to reduce injuries on plays previously described as the most dangerous in the game.

While reducing injuries, the NFL has struggled to address its simultaneous goal of raising return rates, which have been relatively low since the kickoff was moved to the 35-yard line in 2010.

Even now the current return rate is well short of the NFL's initial projections, which stated that 55 percent of kickoffs would be returned in 2024, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert.

With the newest rule already up for review after the 2024 season, it seems likely the league's initial success in cutting down on concussions will be enough to encourage the NFL to continue tweaking the new dynamic kickoff.

Commissioner Roger Goodell recently said on NFL Network's Good Morning Football that the NFL would make "a few changes on the kickoff" going forward, including potentially moving the touchback to the 35-yard line.