The NFL is concerned about the number of injuries that occur on special teams, and it could lead to more rule changes.
The league has issued a call to action about high injury rates on special teams, according to a report on Monday as part of the NFL’s annual health and safety meeting with journalists covering the Super Bowl.
While the league’s data doesn’t show an increase in concussions, the numbers continue to reveal that they occur more often on punts and kickoffs than on other plays. Despite recent rule changes implemented to make those plays safer, NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills reported that one in six NFL concussions in 2021 came on special teams.
Thirty percent of ACL tears and 29% of muscle injuries to the lower body also came on special teams, despite those plays making up only 17% of NFL action.
Rule changes and training requirements are solutions the NFL will consider this offseason. However, Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, told reporters that the league does not want to eliminate specific special teams plays, according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. The league last changed the rules for kickoffs in 2018, banning double-team blocks and running starts.
In 2021, the NFL had a total of 187 concussions, including practices and preseason games. The figure is slightly higher than the 172 concussions from 2020, but no preseason games were played last season due to COVID-19. Still, the number is lower than the 224 in 2019 as well as the average of 266 concussions from 2015 to 2017.
