NFL commissioner believes kickoff changes are working

The NFL introduced the dynamic kickoff rule this season in an effort to not only increase the number of kickoff returns, but to also reduce injuries that happen on those plays. Commissioner Roger Goodell believes the change is working on both fronts.

Goodell discussed the changes on Saturday at a fan forum in London ahead of Sunday's game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears.

According to Goodell, over 30% of the kickoffs in the NFL this season have resulted in a return, an increase from the 20% the league saw a year ago. There have been other positives to come from the new rules, too. 

"With that increase in returns, it's giving us more data to determine whether we can do it more safely," Goodell explained. "It actually is incredibly promising. We're seeing lower impacts that have led to less severe injuries and less number of injuries. So I think it's working,"

The new kickoff rules have several changes, with the most significant being the two teams lining up five yards from each other and not being allowed to run until the ball is caught by a returner. 

The touchback line has also been moved to the 30-yard line instead of the 25 to incentivize teams not just kicking the ball through the end zone.

The change is a one-year trial and Goodell envisions some potential tweaks in the future that could involve either moving the kickoff line back so it is not as easy to put the ball into the end zone, to perhaps even further changes to where touchbacks would go. 

Kickoffs were reaching a point where they did not happen frequently enough, robbing fans of one of the most exciting plays in a football game, while also still producing high numbers of injuries. It seems that the league has found a way to fix both problems at the same time, even if there are room for some more tweaks to it in the future.