Mason Crosby’s kickoff touchback solution? All onside, all the time

12:35 AM ET

GREEN BAY, Wis. — If Mike McCarthy is having a hard time deciding how to approach kickoffs this season with the new experimental touchback rule, the Green Bay Packers coach might want to consider kicker Mason Crosby’s out-of-the-box idea.

“I have a suggestion: Why don’t we just onside kick every time?” Crosby joked during an interview on ESPN Milwaukee’s “Green & Gold Today” last week. “But I don’t know if that’s going to be the case.”

NFL owners voted in March to move touchbacks on kickoffs from the 20- to the 25-yard line on a one-year trial basis. McCarthy questioned the wisdom of the change afterward, saying, “Do you want the kicking game in the game or not in the game? If it’s in the game, let’s kick it and return it and let’s play the play. I just don’t like [it], let’s not reward a decision not to compete with five extra yards. If we’re going to compete, let’s compete. If we’re not going to compete, let’s not compete.”

It’s unclear how the change will impact how teams approach the kicks — and the returns. The NFL moved kickoffs up five yards in 2011, correctly thinking it would increase the number of touchbacks and, in turn, improve safety by reducing the number high-speed collisions that occur on kickoff returns. Somewhat surprisingly, many teams had their returners bring the ball out even when the kickoff came down 5 yards or …

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