Chris Boswell is one of the greatest field goal kickers in the history of the game, so his job is secure. Regardless of what might happen in other areas of a kicker’s duties, the Pittsburgh Steelers have their leg. And they intend to use that leg for kickoffs under the new rules, it sounds like, while others consider alternatives.
The Kansas City Chiefs were the first team to acknowledge they are looking at potentially using non-kickers to kick off. I suggested at the time that perhaps the Steelers should do the same, given Boswell’s injury history. Even the Baltimore Ravens with Justin Tucker are giving it some consideration.
But if you listen to special teams coordinator Danny Smith, I’m not sure he sounds too interested. When asked about what kind of input Boswell has on their approach given the new kickoff rule, Smith laughed, saying, “None”. But he also said that “Boz is all in” on the new kickoff. “He’ll be good at it. Trust me. He’ll be very good at it”.
The concern with the new kickoff rules or kickers is not, of course, the kick itself. Based on studies of similar kickoff formulations in other leagues, the kicker can see competitive action on upwards of 25 percent of all kickoffs or more. Historically, you want to see your kicker making as few tackle attempts as possible, so this changes things for Boswell.
Boswell does have seven tackles in his career, although he has not made one since 2019—for the better, mind you. He did recover a fumble in 2021. But the Steelers want him focused on field goals and extra points, first and foremost, where he excels.
As it stands now, Boswell is the sixth-most-accurate kicker in NFL history at 87.2 percent. All five kickers currently ahead of him are active players, four of whom entered the NFL in 2017 or later. The exception is Tucker, who has been in the game since 2012, the only player over 90 percent, right at the top.
Tucker told reporters he wasn’t sure if he would find himself back in tackling drills for the first time since high school. The reality is that all 32 teams are figuring out how this thing works. Different teams may find that what works for one organization doesn’t work for them, depending on personnel. How comfortable are the Steelers with the possibility of Chris Boswell attempting half a dozen tackles or more?
Then again, the alternative is using a non-kicker who will kick with much greater variability. But the play itself is a high-combustible situation, with a missed tackle potentially becoming a touchdown. That one extra tackler on the play may be more valuable than a full-time kicker.
I suspect that virtually no teams will ultimately settle on a non-kicker for the job. If they do, they either have a suspect kicker or a reliable non-kicker. The Chiefs believe that they have one, and to be fair, some non-specialists do have a kicking background. Perhaps some multi-sport athletes played soccer. But do the Steelers have any soccer players who can spare Boswell from kickoff duties?
