NFL introduces new kickoff return rules, bans hip-drop tackle

The annual NFL owners meetings are taking place this week and the league has already passed some new rules for the upcoming season. Starting in 2024, players can no longer use the hip-drop tackle method.

“What’s happening on the hip-drop is the defender is encircling tackling the runner and then swinging their weight and falling on the side of their leg, which is their ankle or their knee,” NFL competition committee chairman and Falcons CEO Rich McKay explained on Monday.

While the hip-drop tackle has caused some serious injuries in recent years, even the NFLPA was against removing the technique due to the difficulty of enforcing it.

The NFL also changed the trade deadline to Week 9, giving teams an additional week to complete trades, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

NFL is moving the trade deadline to Week 9. Steelers proposed moving the deadline back a week.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 26, 2024

Arguably the biggest change to come from these meetings was the new hybrid kickoff return rules. The NFL will adopt an XFL-style kickoff on a one-year trial basis starting in 2024. Read the full rule change below, as shared by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero:

Here’s the final summary on the NFL Hybrid Kickoff that owners approved today on a one-year trial basis. pic.twitter.com/FYKaytdwka

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 26, 2024

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