Since kickoff returns have become less significant over time, the NFL modified its kickoff regulations earlier this week to emphasize them more. Under the new rule, players cannot move until the kicked ball reaches the returner or lands in a designated zone, thus the kicking and receiving sides will line up closer to one another. To receive the ball, a maximum of two returners may be present in the landing zone.
Kickoff returners will naturally become much more valuable as a result of this. The NFL was looking for ways to solve the 22% kickoff return rate from the previous season, and John Fassell, the special teams coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, played a key role in getting this rule altered.
During an interview on the Ross Tucker Podcast this week, John Fassel shared the discussions he had with the top defensive end for the Cowboys. It appears that Parsons requested Fassel to be the kickoff returner in the past, but Fassel politely declined.
Parsons would be a fantastic kickoff returner, as Fassel is aware. He emphasizes in the interview that it is not his decision to make, though. That decision would be made by head coach Mike McCarthy, and the Cowboys would never, ever put their best defender in such a precarious situation.
