The NFL has changed its kickoff rules, and 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel wants a chance to partake.
“I wouldn’t mind doing it from the get-go,” Samuel said Friday, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “I’m a team-first player, so if [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] was like, ‘Hey, man, we don’t want you to do it full-time. We just use you whenever we really need it,’ I’m fine with that. But if you want to use me full-time, I’m all for that as well.”
The league overhauled its kickoff rules this offseason, borrowing an idea from the XFL. The hope is for more returns, though some expect that teams will continue to kick the ball through the end zone for a touchback, even with the starting field position now on the 30 instead of the 25.
Samuel has returned only nine kickoffs in his career, averaging 25.9 yards per return, but he expects big things this season if given the chance.
“Looking at it, it’s kind of weird, but I feel like, on the side that we on, for us, the returning team, I feel like we have a real big advantage of you make one guy miss,” Samuel said. “I mean, it’s just you and a kicker, and nine times out of 10, the kicker’s not making tackles. So I’m pretty sure people will try to turn skill guys into kickers at some point if it continue to go [this way], just so they have a last-line-of-defense tackler.”
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/deebo-samuel-wants-opportunity-return-212718448.html
Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-07-26 21:27:18
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