Every NFL off season we undergo rule changes.

These changes are designed to keep the competitive balance alive, and in general keep the league and their viewership numbers at the top.

Rules such as reviewing targeting calls, a change in the kickoff rules, among others have come to make up the game we know today. The kickoff rules changed back in 2020, and now they're changing again. Below are what the rules will look like for the 2024 campaign as the NFL runs a one-year trial: 

• There will be a landing zone for the ball. The zone will be between the receving teams goal line and their 20 yard line.
• Any kick that lands in that zone must be returned
  
• Any kick that hits in the landing zone, then goes into the end zone, must be returned or downed by the receiving team. If it is downed the ball will "touchback" to the 20-yard line
• Any kick that lands short of the landing zone will be treated like a kickoff out of bounds, and the ball will be spotted at the 40 yard line. The play will be blown dead as soon as the kick lands short of the landing zone.
• If the kick hits in the end zone, stays in bounds and it is downed the ball will touchback to the 30-yard line
• Any kick that goes out of the back of the end zone in the air or via bounce, the ball will touchback to the 30-yard line

A full breakdown of the new rules and how they will be incorporated can be found here. 

The Cowboys recently found success in the return game in the form of KaVontae Turpin and he would go on to earn Pro-Bowl honors  in his first season in the NFL in 2022. 

Turpin was recently asked about the new kick off rules, and he had this to say:

"Me and (Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel), we got some stuff going on with the new kick off rules and hopefully I get a chance. I hope they don't try to keep it away from me and I'm just looking forward to some opportunities."

Turpin added that the unit is working on the new kick off rules every day.

"I feel like it's going to be harder to do because the only way you can keep it away from me is doing line drives and making it roll to the endzone," Turpin said when asked if this made it easier for teams to keep the ball away from him on kickoffs.

And if you look at the new rules, that line drive kick just got significantly harder. If the ball lands short of the landing zone, the offense will get the ball on the 40-yard line. 

This is a new rule this year, and obviously it will take some time for teams to adjust and come up with an ideal gameplan. 

Having a returner like Turpin will force teams to think longer and harder about how they want to approach the Cowboys with the new rule, which very well could give them an advantage. 

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