• The kicker will still kick off from his own 35 but his teammates will now line up on the opponents' 40 and cannot move downfield until the ball is either touched by the opponent or hits the ground.
• The receiving team must line up at least seven players between the 30 and 35 yard line in what's being called the 'set up zone' and they're allowed a maximum of two players inside the 'landing zone' which is between the goal line and the 20.
• If a kick off hits short of the landing zone, the receiving team automatically starts at their own 40-yard line.
• If it lands inside the landing zone and goes through the endzone, the drive starts at the 20.
• Any kick that is downed in or lands in the endzone and goes through results in a touchback to the 30 yard line.
• If a kick off goes out of bounds, the receiving team takes possession on its 40-yard line.

Elements of the new kickoff rule were used in previous seasons by the XFL, but that league went back to a more conventional kickoff after experimenting with some of the much more radical changes implemented by the NFL this season.

"I think there are a lot of unknowns and uncertainties," said Steelers special teams ace Tyler Matakevich, re-signed this season after spending the past four seasons with the Buffalo Bills. "Nobody really knows. Nobody has really done it."

"How many false starts are there going to be?," Smith asked. "Between the return team and the coverage team, we're both watching this ball in the air initially. How many false starts are there going to be if people leave prior to the ball hitting the ground or being touched?

"(The receiving team) can adjust to your alignment, but once they get set, they have to stay set. They cannot move. Say you get a line drive coming into that group of 19 players. I can't jump to block that ball because I've moved my feet. I can stick my arm out. I can swivel my hips without moving my feet. Because if it doesn't go in there, the ball is dead at the 40. I can't chase it because I moved my feet and I can't move my feet. The feet are going to be a big part of officiating it because you can't move your feet on both sides of the ball."

Any kick that hits short of the landing zone – the 20 – will be treated as a kickoff out of bounds and will be spotted at the 40-yard line, with the play blown dead as soon as the ball hits the ground.

Any kick that lands in the landing zone must be returned. A kick that hits in the landing zone and goes into the end zone must be returned or downed by the receiving team. If it is downed, the touchback will place the ball at the 20-yard line.

A kick that hits in the end zone and stays inbounds will be placed at the 30-yard line if downed by the receiving team. Any kick that goes out of the end zone either in the air or bouncing is considered a touchback and placed at the 30, as well.

There will be no fair catch signals. Officials will blow the play dead once the ball is downed by the receiving team.

That also could lead to some issues for players who aren't familiar with the rules or just plain forget in the heat of the moment.

"We've had those guys doing the cross and running off the field when it lands in the end zone," Smith said. "You watch, somebody's going to get burned by that. College has it and we have had it. There's going to be a young guy that comes in somewhere that's going to do that and give up a touchdown."

That's why coaches across the league have emphasized the new rule so much throughout the offseason and into training camps.

Nobody is really sure what everything is going to look like until they get into some actual games in the preseason. It's one reason why so many teams, including the Steelers, are utilizing joint practices this summer. Of the league's 32 teams, 30 are having joint practices with another team. And you can bet that working on the new kickoff rule will be a big part of those joint sessions.

"We're all going to figure it out together," said Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig.

Among other changes with the new rule is what happens if the ball falls off the tee.

Previously, the kicking team would have one of the other 10 players on the field hold the ball for the kicker. But since the kicker will be the only player on his own side of the 50, that wasn't going to work.

Initially, kickers were going to be permitted to use the kicking stick they use to practice on the sidelines. But in late July, teams were told that plan has been scrapped and a 12th player will be permitted to come onto the field for the kicking team to hold the ball. But he must immediately return to his own sideline following the kick.

The rules could continue to be tweaked as the league figures out what does and does not work.

"It would not shock me if we tweak it all along," Smith said. "A thing came out (recently) with the tee. We have got a one-inch tee. There's only one tee certified by the National Football League. You're not allowed to lay the ball flat. The ball must be down in that well. The kickers lay the ball flat, trying to get whirlybirds and line drives, balls all over the place. So, we've taken that away. There's a lot on officiating, too."

Smith and the Steelers didn't emphasize the kickoff rule during their first week of training camp, waiting for the league to send out officials, as it does every year, so that it could discuss what will and will not be permitted. Teams need to learn where officials will set up and how different parts of the rule will be adjudicated.

"I think we'll all figure out exactly what this looks like in Week 1 of the preseason," said Steelers' kicker Chris Boswell.

One thing for certain is that kickoffs are going to look much different.

Previous changes were made in the kickoff rule to help improve player safety, and they worked. According to Smith, concussions on kickoffs went from 13 across the league to just eight last season.

But there also were a lot fewer kick returns. In 2022, opponents attempted 47 kickoff returns against the Steelers. Last season, that number fell to 18, as most teams decided to simply take the ball at the 25-yard line on a touchback or fair catch inside the 20.

That fair catch will no longer be permitted, while balls kicked out of the end zone will be placed at the 30.

The emphasis is going to be heavy on ball placement for kickers, something that could become difficult in cold weather cities as the season wears on.

"Indoor teams can do whatever they want, but in the conditions we play in, you've got to be spot on with your kicks," Boswell said.

Hang time also will no longer matter, since nobody can move until the ball is touched or hits the ground in the landing zone.

That could take the squib kick out of the game, as well. Kicks must hit inside the 20. If they touch the ground or hit one of the players outside the landing zone, the ball will be placed at the 40.

"The landing zone is important," Smith said. "People are saying you can squib these kicks, but you have to get it into the landing zone from the 20-yard line in. Now, you're not just kicking to the return guys, there's 19 people balled up in there. There's more bodies. If you play with one returner, you've got 20. If you play with two, you've got 19. That's a challenge.

"It's not an easy kick for the kicker."

One of the more interesting aspects will be a ball that hits near the 20. The receiving team could field the ball and return it. But if replay shows it hit short of the 20, it would be considered a dead ball and placed at the 40.

It's also going to change who teams put onto their kickoff teams. Because the return and coverage teams are only going to be five yards apart, there will be a greater emphasis on blocking and the ability to get off of blocks.

"It's a five-yard separation. You are going to get touched. You're going to get contact," Smith said. "Who are the better players on your football team (handling that)? Tight ends on releases. Linebackers getting chipped by linemen. Outside backers getting chipped by tight ends. Who are those types that can shed a block, because it's hard to avoid in a five-yard radius. There will be some. But there's going to be some contact. Who can get off a block?"

Defensive backs, wide receivers and running backs who have been used on kickoff returns and coverages in the past because of their speed getting down the field might still have a place on the field with the new rule, but matchups also must be considered.

"Big athletic guys are going to play more on this," Smith said. "But you've got to match up. We do that anyway. Say I'm the center in the middle of the formation. I'm picking up 5, as an example. I'm a DB. Last week, their 5 was a wideout. That's a good matchup. This week, that matchup is a d-tackle, an athletic tackle. We've got a bad matchup. We swap people.

You've got mine. I've got yours. Let's get a good matchup. You're going to have the ability to do that."

Returns also will be a little different.

"Because they took all that running out, it's going to happen very quickly," said Steelers All-Pro special teams player and captain Miles Killebrew. "It almost turns into a glorified stretch play. I think that you're going to see a lot of explosive plays this year. I think there's going to be a lot of touchdowns because once you get past that first layer there's no one else there.

You don't have the time for safeties to fold behind. There's multiple layers with guys running down the field with different speeds. It's going to be a very impactful play and I think you're

going to see a lot of explosiveness come from that area of the game."

Smith spent the offseason dreaming up plays to take advantage of that.

But until he gets into a game or at least game-like situations, he won't know what will or won't work. There will be some trial and error.

"I've got a whole stack of them, things I do at night," Smith said. "We'll see what works and what won't. I've got a pile of them. This looks good. That looks good. I don't know what looks good until we get there."

It's all part of the process. And since much of this hasn't been done before, nobody knows what to expect – with one exception.

The onside kick will still be a part of the equation, though the surprise onside kick is no longer part of the game. Once the fourth quarter begins, trailing teams can declare their desire to utilize an onside kick. Current NFL rules would apply to the onside kick. If the onside kick goes beyond the setup zone untouched, the kicking team will be penalized and the ball will be placed at the 20.

It's all new. It's all different.

But it's the rule, and the Steelers are embracing it.

"It's an ever-changing league, whether it's the game, the coaches or the players," Herbig said. "