Justin Tucker shares thoughts and potential adjustments on new kickoff rules

When Baltimore Ravens’ future Hall of Fame kicker Justin Tucker entered the league over a decade ago, the kickoff was still a big part of the game. It provided some of its most exciting plays and played a major factor in deciding crucial games, including the team’s 2012 Super Bowl his rookie year.

However, in recent years, the pivotal play had been all but phased out as part of an effort to make the game safer by reducing concussions. That will be changing starting this upcoming season after the league approved new kickoff rules. The new rules will reinvigorate the kickoff while still reducing the number of high-speed collisions that had become synonymous with the play, both of which Tucker is in support of.

“[My] initial reaction was [that] you have to be positive about it and think about it in terms of, this is going to keep the play in the game,” Tucker said in a Thursday press conference. “This is not just going to keep the play in the game, it’s going to make it much more exciting. I think there’s going to be a lot more action as far as kicks that will be returned. In the last several years, the trend has been for most teams to send the ball into the end zone, give up the 25-yard line, and the play was essentially not happening as it was designed to happen, but now, in all likelihood, we’re going to see a lot more of returns, and it will give a lot more guys opportunity to take that play and make it a big play. I’m looking forward to it; it’s going to be really exciting.”

Tucker equated the adjustments kickers will have to make to how baseball pitchers develop multiple types of pitches to throw strikes and prevent the opposing teams from scoring.

“Just like a pitcher tries to develop his stuff, I’m doing the same thing out here,” Tucker said. “[I’m] trying to figure out whichever we can in our minds gain an advantage, gain an edge, whether that means putting the ball in different spots, making it challenging for a returner to scoop up the ball easily – all of those things we’re looking at right now,” Tucker. Granted, we are kind of in the fledgling stages of what we’re trying to accomplish here, what we’re trying to figure out.”

Tucker went on to say part of his preparation for this innovation was spending more time weight lifting than he has in the past. He watched film of how kickers in the XFL — where the rule was first implemented — were getting more involved in covering the modified kickoffs.

“More recently, my lab has actually been the weight room,” Tucker said. “This might be really surprising to a lot of you guys and a lot of my teammates, because I don’t [tend] to hang out in the weight room too frequently. But, after watching a lot of the XFL plays over the last couple of years, [the] kicker seems to be involved in like 25% of the tackles. I’ve mixed it up a couple of times – I’ve gotten in there. But now I have to get some more shrugs, get the [shoulder] traps going a little bit just to make sure I’m prepared for a little bit more contact. In all seriousness, it will be a lot of fun to see what we come up with and then see what other teams come up with and see how we can gain an advantage on the play.”

Tucker claims he has already added 3.8 pounds of muscle to his still slender frame. Despite what might be a heightened injury risk to himself, he still desires to continue performing kickoff duties. However, he is willing and open to relinquishing them to another non-traditional part-time specialist.

“Well [heck] yeah, I want to be out there,” Tucker said. “Any chance I get to be on the field, I’m living out my childhood dream. Whenever, wherever that is, I’m going to make sure I’m ready to go and put the best product on the field that I possibly can. At the same time and fairness to the idea that a safety or a linebacker or somebody that has a little bit more practice, a little bit more training as a coverage athlete, as a tackler, I think it’s totally fair to turn over every stone and see what you’ve got.

“Who knows? There might be a hidden gem in our locker room; a guy that can pinpoint, drop the ball off the tee on the five-yard line, on the red fade line, just drop it on a dime, and then just go down there and smoke the ball carrier. I’d like to think I would be that guy, but just like any and all positions out here, evaluations are comprehensive and ongoing. I’m just going to do everything I can to make sure I have every kick available and everything else I need to have available. Every other way that I need to be prepared, I’m going to make sure I do that for this team.”