The NFL changed its kickoff rules earlier last week, to put more emphasis on kickoff returns as they were getting increasingly less relevant over the years. The new rule means that the kicking and receiving teams will line up closer to each other without players being able to move until the kicked ball reaches the returner or hits the ground in a designated zone. A maximum of two returners will be in the landing zone to receive the ball.
This will naturally increase the value of kickoff returners in a big way. The Dallas Cowboys’ special teams coordinator John Fassell was instrumental in getting this rule changed as the league was trying to find ways to address the 22% kickoff return rate last season.
Now that the kickoff return is back, the Dallas Cowboys might have a surprise returner ready to get some special team snaps next year: Micah Parsons.
During an interview on the Ross Tucker Podcast this week, John Fassel shared the discussions he had with the top defensive end for the Cowboys. It appears that Parsons requested Fassel to be the kickoff returner in the past, but Fassel politely declined.
Parsons would be a fantastic kickoff returner, as Fassel is aware. He emphasizes in the interview that it is not his decision to make, though. That decision would be made by head coach Mike McCarthy, and the Cowboys would never, ever put their best defender in such a precarious situation.
