In what could be the first step in the direction of extra point reform in the NFL, the league is reportedly considering experimenting with significantly longer extra points in the preseason this year. And we mean significant.
Under the current rules, teams line up for the extra point attempt at the two-yard line. According to the league’s official website, if they decide to move forward with the trial run this preseason, kicks would be attempted from the 25-yard line, a 43-yard attempt.
"There is no consensus yet," said an unnamed member of the NFL’s Competition Committee. "We could experiment in preseason, but we are not there yet.”
The timing is the only part of this that comes as a bit of a surprise. Commissioner Roger Goodell has said that the league would reevaluate the extra point--the least exciting play in football--and even consider replacing it altogether, but we really didn't expect such an experiment to even be mentioned so early.
Pushing the attempt back would at least put the danger of missing--which hasn’t been there really at all, over the past few years, as kickers get better and better--back on the table, which could inspire more two-point attempts and ultimately add some excitement to the play.
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