Associated Press
Eagan, Minn. — The NFL has pushed the kickoff return further toward irrelevance with a priority on player safety.
League owners voted Tuesday for a one-year trial of an enhanced touchback rule that will give the receiving team the ball at its own 25 with a fair catch of a kickoff anywhere behind that yard line.
The proposal passed despite an expression of distaste for it from coaches and players across the league. They argued the rule change will create uglier plays with squib and corner kicks that are impossible for fair catches.