Special teams coordinator ‘would love’ Cowboys defensive star to return kicks

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Unlike Dallas, the NFL has implemented some changes for the 2024 season.

Given the unsettled situation of the Dallas Cowboys’ main players, there are some doubts as to what direction the team will be taking in the season ahead.

At this point, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons must be hoping that Dallas will offer them a contract extension soon. They’re both the engine that makes the squad work and also the reason the team can still be competitive.

Lamb managed 135 receptions last season (NFL leader) as well as 1,749 yards and 12 TDs. It was the fourth season in a row that his combined reception, yardage and touchdown numbers increased. He’s only missed one game since joining the NFL in 2020.

Parsons is one of the most talented defenders in the NFL. In his rookie season he did a veteran’s job and continues to prove every game that he’s one of the best in the league at his position.

READ MORE: Former NFL general manager names the replacement quarterback Dallas should draft to replace Dak Prescott

Parsons wants to take up another position in Dallas

It looks like the Cowboys’ edge rusher wants to be even more active in the squad and take responsability in one more part of the game.

On Ross Tucker football podcast, Dallas’ special teams coordinator John Fassel joined the show to talk about the new kickoff rules for 2024 and the development of the unit over the course of his career.

Since the NFL announced the changes in kickoff rules, Parsons has shown interest in being a member of the ST and approached Fassel about the possibility of returning kicks – and Fassel loved the idea.

“You know Micah. So, he has lobbied me in the past to just be the primary kickoff returner. I’m like, Micah, that’s the question you got to go a little further up than me on that one. But would I love to see him back there? Absolutely, because he would be fantastic. He would catch it and he’d run wild and he’d probably get incredible yards. But that ain’t going to happen. I’m aware of that.”

The defender’s interest didn’t come suddenly. Back in college, he played some special teams and Fassel recalls paying attention to that even before the Cowboys drafted him: “I remember watching Micah on kickoff coverage at Penn State as a freshman because I was scouting Nick Scott, a player we had drafted to the Rams.”

“Then I was looking at Cam Brown also, but ‘Who’s that guy on kickoff’ when [Parsons] was a freshman. Then, you look him up, I don’t know who he is, but he’ll probably be alright someday. But Micah has asked about being a primary kickoff returner, that hasn’t been allowed yet, probably not going to be allowed unless you say, ‘Hey, you know in the game we’re down by six and there’s eight seconds left in the game and we got to score a touchdown and kick return to win it?’. Maybe we put Micah back there as a second returner.”

The main reason the league has implemented this new format is to reduce player injuries and also increase the percentage of returns.

The new 2024 kickoff model

Called the “hybrid model”, the new kickoff rule is inspired by the system previously used by the XFL. Next season, the kickers will continue to start the game on their own 35-yard line, but the positioning of the other players on the kicking team will change to the 40-yard line on the field of the team that will receive the ball.

Meanwhile, the returning team will have two players positioned in the so-called “landing zone”, the space between the 20-yard line and the goal line. The rest of the team will be in the setup zone, the area between the 35-yard and 30-yard lines of the return field.

Except for the kicker and the pair of receivers, the other players from both teams may not move until the ball touches the ground or is recovered by a returner. Fair catches will not be allowed and the return is mandatory if the ball reaches the landing zone.