NFL Needs to 'Address the Onside Kick,' Troy Vincent Says as League Explores Rule Changes

There could be changes coming to the NFL's onside kick rules.

"We've still got to address the onside kick," NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said Tuesday, per Mark Maske of Front Office Sports. 

He also said league leaders and team owners spent "a good amount of time" on Tuesday discussing overall kickoffs as well.

The NFL first made major changes to its kickoff rules for the 2024 season in an effort to increase returns. Included in those changes were placing the ball at the 35-yard line for a touchback so there was more incentive to kick into the landing zone instead of the end zone.

What's more, non-kicking players can't move until the ball is caught or hits the ground in the landing zone.

In terms of onside kicks, ESPN's Kevin Seifert reported before the season that the NFL made more changes. It initially only allowed teams trailing in the fourth quarter to declare they were attempting onside kicks but then changed it last year to allowing teams to do so at any point in the game if they were trailing.

This season, the NFL removed the requirement that a team must be trailing. That meant teams can declare an onside kick at any time in the game.

Yet there has not been a high success rate in recovering onside kicks in recent years with teams having to declare their intentions. Perhaps that will inspire the league to address it in the future, as Vincent mentioned.

As for kickoffs as a whole, Seifert noted last season saw an increase in return rate to 74.5 percent.

NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller said the return rate is now 80 percent, adding "we can declare success on that one," per Maske.

The kickoff return is now a major part of the game, and it has played significant roles in outcomes such as when Ameer Abdullah's long return for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the final seconds of their game against the Philadelphia Eagles set up the winning field goal.