There were are a few small tweaks that will take place in the NFL during the upcoming season, and they have been met with a good deal of criticism over the last couple of days. Two NFL players themselves, Jason and Travis Kelce, weighed in on what they thought about the rule changes.
“Absolutely Stupid” Says Travis Kelce Of New Rules
#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce destroys the NFL over rule changes: ‘Absolutely Stupid’, ‘Such Bulls***”
“They’re basically saying if the 49ers had a 3rd quarterback, they would’ve gone to the Super Bowl.”https://t.co/NXJp8ocxA2
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 25, 2023
Perhaps the biggest change comes in the name of player safety. Statistically, kickoffs are one of the plays in football that causes the most head injuries, and the league has done what they can in the past to minimize impacts. They are taking it a step further starting in 2023, by allowing fair catches on kickoffs.
As the rule now reads, a team that makes a successful fair catch from inside the 25-yard line will have the ball moved out to the 25-yard line to start their possession. Travis Kelce had a strong opinion:
“I think this is absolutely stupid. I don’t think this is making the game safer. I think it’s making it more boring. It’s taking excitement out of the game’s opening play. This is wack.”
Jason responds by saying that we are getting closer and closer to eliminating special teams altogether. We have seen a predictably steep decline in returns since the league changed the spotting of the ball for kickoffs, and this new rule will likely make the kick return an extreme rarity. As the Kelces point out, teams are going to fair catch essentially every kickoff, save for the poor, short ones.
#Lions HC Dan Campbell calls the new fair catch rules for kickoffs “highly frustrating,” especially since coaches around the NFL were against it.
“I hate that we continue to take away from the game. That’s what really worries me.”
(🎥 @Lions)pic.twitter.com/HTVvLCQWYF
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 25, 2023
Another rule that was added during the NFL spring meetings was the availability of an emergency quarterback on game days. As the rule previously stated, a team could only have two active QBs on the roster. But after the rash of injuries to pass throwers last season, and seemingly in large part to the San Francisco 49ers positional fiasco in the NFC Championship game, teams can now have a third.
The added player will not count against the active game day roster, and will only be allowed to be activated under certain circumstances.
Travis Kelce shows his displeasure with this one as well. He calls the rule “absolutely stupid”, saying that the 49ers would have made it to the Super Bowl last season had the rule been in place then.
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