Thursday night will bring the first game action of the 2023 season and it will also provide the first chance to see how teams adapt to a new kickoff rule.
The Hall of Fame Game between the Jets and Browns will be the first one played since the NFL approved a rule change calling for the ball to be placed at the 25-yard-line if teams fair catch kickoffs inside the 25-yard-line. The league said the rule change was meant to address player safety and it passed despite the opposition of special teams coaches.
During a Tuesday press conference, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said he’s interested to see how things go this week.
“I think we’re all curious how it all plays out,” Stefanski said, via a team transcript. “There may be some teams that hold what they’re doing until Week One and not necessarily in the preseason, but we’ll kind of see how it goes. Hopefully, we’ll be covering some kicks and getting some kick returns in the punt game. I think that’s a big aspect of this as well, getting some live coverage reps and you don’t love to punt all the time, but it’s okay to get some punts in. There are some punt return opportunities for all of our young players.”
Stefanski is likely right about teams keeping things close to the vest in preseason, but we’ll start to find out for sure on Thursday.
