Caleb Harris
O NFL kickoff will be different in 2024 as the league’s competition committee added new rules this offseason.
These new rules came about because touchbacks became more expected in kickoff returns than in actual returns themselves. The rules encourage action, and returns – and tackles – will be more important than ever, especially on the kicking team’s last line of defense.
That’s why back-to-back Super Bowl The champion Kansas City Chiefs have decided to insert safety Justin Reid as their new starting man. He replaced kicker Harrison Butker at this position at different times in the 2022 and 2023 seasons due to injury. Reid hit 1 of 2 extra points in Week 1 of the 2022 season at the Arizona Cardinals, a 44-21 Chiefs victory. His seven career kickoffs have traveled an average of 63.6 yards, and Reid has recorded five touchbacks.
“The advantage for us is that if I’m doing the work, which is what we’re planning on doing, then I can bridge that last gap, so it makes it a little easier, and no one has to bridge two gaps,” Reid said on “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast on Tuesday. “We’re in a great place with this. Even though I know he [Butker] can make some tackles, I think he’s excited to preserve himself, and we can use him where we really need him, which are those fourth quarter situations to hit a 60-yard field goal and win the game. It would be devastating to try to trot a guy who is still injured from trying to make a tackle in the second half.”
With kickoff coverage units lined up on the receiving team’s 40-yard line, and only the kicker back on his own 35-yard line and being unable to cross midfield until the ball is in play – which is whether the returner catches it or whether the ball hits the ground in the landing zone or whether the ball makes it to the end zone – having a reliable defender back there is now more important.
“Justin can cover, he can kick and he can go out there and make tackles,” Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub said. “He’s an extra guy they probably aren’t considering. … A guy like Justin is a guy they need to worry about. They need to block him and give up blocking someone else.”
“The whole wait time dynamic has completely changed,” Reid said. “Normally on kickoff, kickers are great at trying to have a four-second timeout to give guys time to get on the field, but now you’re trying to keep the ball as low as possible while it’s still in play. We’re trying to get it to hit the ground because when the ball hits the ground, now is your cooldown. Guys can take off at that point and however long it takes the returner to catch the ball, they are wasting time.
Ultimately, Reid, a six-year NFL veteran, feels he could have an even longer pro football career than he could have imagined because of the rule changes. More teams could follow the Chiefs’ lead and look for defensive players who have been youth football players growing up.
“We could have added some time to my career. You could have extended my show a few years,” said 27-year-old Reid. “When I’m done being the starting safety, I can become that third rotational safety and also be a kickoff specialist.”
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