'Flag Football'? Is Cowboys' KaVontae Turpin Right On New NFL Fair-Catch Rule?
While the Dallas Cowboys kick off the second week of Offseason Training Activities, the NFL has approved a few notable changes for the upcoming season.
The biggest change is to kickoffs. The new rule will give the receiving team the ball at its own 25 with a fair catch of a kickoff anywhere behind that yard line — just as if the kickoff had gone through the end zone.
Cowboys receiver and returner KaVontae Turpin says the new rule won't change much for him.
"I don't really care about the kickoff return rule because I'm not fair-catching on kickoff return ... Just being real with you," Turpin said via the team website. "Punt return? Yeah... But kickoff return? I'm not fair-catching. So that new rule? I don't care about it. They had it in college and I didn't fair-catch."
The NFL reasons that the change will reduce the risk of injuries, especially concussions, on kickoffs - which are typically one of the most dangerous parts of the game.
The argument against the rule is centered around concerns it pushes the kickoff return further toward irrelevance and will lead to uglier plays with squib and corner kicks.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has concerns about the special-teams change. The reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs are favorites to again win the Lombardi Trophy but will have to make special-teams adjustments like the rest of the league. Reid told reporters last week that he worries about one change will turn into many that will ultimately transform the game in a negative way.
“So you start taking pieces (away), and we’ll see how this goes, but you don’t want to take too many pieces away," Reid said. "You’ll be playing flag football.”
The kickoff rule is a one-year change that will be reevaluated next offseason. Reports suggest that this change had been opposed by a significant number of the league’s special-teams coaches. But one way or another, with a new-look roster and offensive play-caller in head coach Mike McCarthy, Dallas looks to contend deeper into the playoffs this season by adjusting to the internal and external shifts in 2023. And the Cowboys need to strategize - with Turpin's help - how to best benefit from the rules.
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