The NFL has previously considered alternatives to the onside kick that would give teams a chance to keep the ball by lining their offense on the field and converting a fourth-and-long. This year, the NFL is giving no consideration to such a rule.
NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said that in conversations this offseason, neither the Competition Committee nor any team thought a fourth-and-long alternative to the onside kick was worth exploring.
The fourth-and-long alternatives have been tried in some minor leagues, but Vincent said there’s a belief in NFL circles that it’s a gimmicky play and not something the league needs to add.
Onside kicks have become so hard to recover that they’re only used in the most desperate of desperation moments, but this year the league will change the alignment of the kicking team on onside kicks to let the players stand with one foot on the restraining line, meaning they will be slightly farther forward and may have a slightly better chance of recovering.
An alternative could be easier to convert than the onside kick is to recover, and therefore lead to more exciting comebacks. But the NFL is shutting that idea down.
