Mike Priefer, special teams coordinator for the Vikings, just got a busier offseason. In addition to the new national anthem policy, the NFL also adopted rule changes that will tweak the way teams deploy kickoffs and kickoff returns.
In Minnesota, the frequency of kickoff returns is in steady decline. Within the past decade the NFL has adopted a handful of rule changes to alter one of the game’s most dangerous plays. The Vikings have fielded fewer kickoff returns every season since 2013, when Cordarrelle Patterson took the bulk of 66 returns.
Last season, the Vikings attempted just 25 returns.