Josh Alper ,
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The NFL did not consider alternatives to the onside kick this offseason, but they could revisit the matter in the future.
While the league is happy with the increased number of kickoff returns since moving to the dynamic kickoff, they are less pleased about the number of successful onside kicks. Three of 50 attempts were successful when onside kicks were only allowed in the fourth quarter in 2024 and only one of the 21 tried this season have been recovered by the kicking team.
Onside kicks can now happen at any time, but the current rules call for teams to announce their intention ahead of time. A proposal to go from onside kicks to a 4th-and-20 play was voted down in 2024, but NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent suggested on Tuesday that more conversations could be coming about an alternative.
“When you start getting a less than five percent recovery rate, now that we’ve seen what has happened with the dynamic kickoff, it may be time for the membership to revisit some of those things that may be out of ordinary,” Vincent said, via Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.
The results of the rest of the season’s onside kicks will likely help determine whether the topic is on the table at league meetings in the offseason.
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