Ameer Abdullah wants to keep kickoffs in the NFL

His opinion is a bit biased, but Detroit Lions running back Ameer Abdullah wants to keep kickoffs in the NFL.

Detroit Lions running back Ameer Abdullah led the NFL in kickoff returns (37) and kickoff return yards (1,077) as a rookie last season, so he clearly has a vested interest in keeping a play the league is slowly trying to eliminate part of the game.

In an interview with MLive.com, here’s what Abdullah had to say about the perceived danger attached to kickoffs.

"“They can’t take the kickoff away . . . I have to see the numbers to believe it’s too dangerous,” Abdullah said. “I return kicks. I watch the film. What I see is what I see, and I think there are more dangerous plays out there. You can only have two-man wedges now too, so it’s basically just one-on-one blocks. I just don’t think it’s dangerous enough to eliminate.”"

"“It’s one of the most exciting plays in football,” Abdullah said. “It’s a play that changes the game, especially if you have a game where the offenses and defenses are matching each other. The kickoff return makes a difference. And what happens with onside kicks? Do they take that away too?”"

Taking the kickoff away would eliminate the option of an onside kick, which would then make it far tougher (if not impossible) for a team facing a one-possession deficit late in a game to make a comeback. That would make games less exciting automatically, which the NFL clearly doesn’t and shouldn’t want.

It’s hard to see another way for a team to get the ball back quickly after scoring without kickoffs and thus on-side kicks. But the amount of kickoff returns in the NFL is declining, with Abdullah’s league-leading numbers from 2015 the lowest in a non-strike season since 1976 (returns) and 1993 (yards). A new rule for this year will move a touchback out to the 25-yard line.

Return men may then be even more hesitant to take kickoffs out of the endzone during the coming season, with five more yards to be gained by taking a knee. But kicking teams could also do higher, shorter “mortar” kicks more often, and thus eliminate the effect of moving the touchback out five yards.

Kickoffs may eventually be eliminated as a change of possession device in American football at all levels, but that time does not appear to be imminent.

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