As most NFL fans know, it's illegal for any team to put 12 players on the field for any play during a game, but for the 2024 season, there will actually be one situation where the league WILL allow teams to have an extra man on the field.
The addition of a 12th man is one of the wrinkles that will come with the new kickoff rule that's being implemented this year, according to NFL referee John Hussey. The veteran ref was in Kansas City on Saturday for Chiefs' training camp, and during his trip, he broke down the new kickoff rule for the media.
During that meeting, Hussey explained the one situation where a 12th man will be legal: Teams will be allowed to use an extra player to serve as the holder for kickoffs during windy games where the ball won't stay on the tee. The catch here is that the 12th man won't be able to participate in the play after holding the ball for the kicker.
"They can't do anything," Hussey said, via Fox4KC.com.
Under the new rule, the return team will be set up with the kicker at his own 35-yard line while his 10 teammates will be lined up 25 yards away at the return team's 40-yard line (Every member of the coverage team has to have one foot on the 40-yard line until the ball is fielded or until it hits the ground in the landing zone). The kicker isn't even allowed to cross the 50 until the ball is in play, so that should give the 12th man/holder plenty of time to get off the field.
The new kickoff rule was approved in March, and right now, no one seems to know how it's going to look in the NFL. Some teams, like the Chiefs, are giving serious consideration to letting a position player serve as kicker, while other teams treating it like business as usual with their normal kicker handling kickoffs.
One other wrinkle in the rule is that if a returner touches the ball while he has one foot outside the landing zone, then the ball will be considered out of bounds. Under the old rule, if a player touched the football while part of his body was out of bounds, then the ball was considered out of bounds and the return team was given the ball at the 40-yard line. You can see an example of this type of play below.
Steelers get an out of bounds kickoff penalty called on Baltimore with a smart return play 🤯 pic.twitter.com/QXKajmsrTO
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) January 6, 2024
With the landing zone starting at the return team's 20-yard line, this means that if a returner touches the ball with one foot on the 20.5-yard line, then the ball will be considered out of bounds and the return team will get the ball at the 40.
If this all sounds confusing, let's just say that there's a reason the NFL needed 9.5 pages to explain the rule.
Hussey said the officials have no idea what to expect.
"Are they going to kick a line drive? Are they going to pooch the ball into the 20? Are they going to keep two receivers back? Move a 10th person up? There's a lot we don't know," Hussey said, via ESPN.com.
The rule will be on display for the first time ever in just a few days when the Bears meet the Texans in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio on Thursday night. The new kickoff rule is being used on a one-year trial and if teams don't like it, then the NFL can simply dump it after the 2024 season, but if it proves to be popular, then the NFL can permanently implement starting in 2025.
