EXCLUSIVE
The biggest NFL rule change in decades is barely two months away.
Teams across the league are rapidly preparing for a massive alteration to how the sport is played.
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In an effort to decrease on-field injuries and bring back the effectiveness of kickoff returns, the NFL will institute an unprecedented rule change for the 2024 season.
The last time the NFL had a change this significant was the addition of instant replay for TV -- and that rule change is still being constantly debated and tweaked.
"It's a big difference," Jacksonville Jaguars special teams coordinator Heath Farwell exclusively told talkSPORT.
"I can't remember a rule change that completely changed the rule --and we've had some tweaks to rules. But this is a completely different play, really, and so we're learning every day.
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"We spent the whole spring, my assistant and I, just breaking it down. We'd get out to the practice field and see what we'd learned."
Farwell won a Super Bowl as a special teams player for the Seattle Seahawks.
Now, he's tasked with helping the Jaguars adapt to a league-altering change that will build off an XFL rule.
Other than the kicker, all 10 players on the kicking team will now line up at the receiving team's 40-yard line.
For the return team, at least nine players will be forced to line up between the 35- and 30-yard lines in a setup zone.
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In an attempt to keep kickoff returns alive, the NFL is making a drastic change that will make the play almost unrecognizable to fans when the 2024 season begins.
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"It was going the wrong direction of getting out of the game, and it's such an important play," Farwell said. "It's important to the players. Guys like myself who made a living playing special teams and running down on those kickoffs.
"It's a very, very important play to the players. The majority of the special teams coaches are former NFL players that played special teams. So it means a ton to us of bringing the safety of it, lowering the impact of the running and the speed, but also still getting the opportunity to still run to cover those kicks.
"It's an exciting play. It's going to be a different play, I think, for people that are that are traditionalist, but you got to embrace it. I think the guys are having a good time knowing they're going to have a lot more opportunities to make tackles, to score on the kick return game. And so I think our guys are really excited about it."
Dual threat Justin Fields, a backup quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, has been mentioned as a potential new weapon on kickoffs.
With teams always attempting to one-up the opposition in a zero-sum game, creativity and originality could result in a game-changing touchdown.
"It's such a new play that nobody really knows," Farwell said. "We think we have an idea. But I think Week 1 through 4, we're going to learn even more.
"I think you potentially see a safety or a linebacker kicking off versus a long snapper, instead of a kicker. Because they can cover down the field and you don't have the ability to kick touchbacks out the back of the end zone.
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"So there's potential for a lot different personnel, body types and players. You could see a quarterback there. It's a completely unique play."
One that is expected to be the biggest change for the NFL since instant replay was allowed.