Defensive players as the kickoff kicker? The Vikings are considering it

"If we can find a guy who can consistently put it in play, or put it in the end zone, or put it within the landing zone we'll definitely do that, because it's an advantage."

Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels coaching at Vikings training camp / image courtesy of Minnesota Vikings

Are we about to see a defensive star be the kickoff kicker for the Vikings this season? Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels isn't ruling out.

The new kickoff rules being implemented this season are set to provide greater chances for returns while also reducing the risk of injuries. As was seen in the XFL's use of the kickoff rule, kickers were involved in a higher rate of tackles than what was seen in previous versions of the kickoff. With that has come the idea of using defensive players to kick off in order to give the kicking team another solid tackling option. Asked whether the Vikings are considering using a similar strategy, Daniels said, "Oh yeah for sure."

"We have a couple guys who do have the ability to kick," Daniels explained. "We've been kind of working through that."

However, Daniels urged caution about going head first into the idea due to the risk of injury.

"You just got to be a little careful and tread lightly with that because these position players they don't truly know what a kicking warmup looks like. They might just finish practice and think, 'Alright I've been running around at practice, I can go. My leg feels good. I can go try to hit a 50-yard, 60-yard kickoff.' But you got to be a little bit careful with that. They got to understand ... a lot of soft tissue injuries occur. So, there's a proper way to warm up, there's a proper way to doing that," Daniels said.

"We just got to be careful with who we put out there, make sure we're working in the right way. The last thing we want is for a running back to tear his groin because he's working on kickoffs before practice. That would get me fired."

On if it's something the team is actually seriously considering, Daniels quickly responded, "Yeah, for sure."

"If we can find a guy who can consistently put it in play, or put it in the end zone, or put it within the landing zone we'll definitely do that because it's an advantage," he said. "Obviously, they aren't allowed to go beyond the 50-yard line until the ball is caught or hits the ground but if you do add a guy in there who is unaccounted from KOR standpoint, and he's a free hitter, you'll want to do that."