Hester: Touchback rule taking away a job from players

As the NFL continues to take steps toward improving player safety, decreasing the frequency of kickoff returns has been a clear focus in rule debates.

Following a 2011 decision to move kickoffs up five yards to the 35-yard line, the league passed another rule this offseason to move touchbacks out five yards to the receiving team's 25-yard line.

The combination of the two adjustments could soon make the kick return a rarity. Devin Hester, the most dominant return man in NFL history, isn't a fan of the change.

"It’s like taking away a job from people," the Atlanta Falcons wide receiver told Vaughn McClure of ESPN. "I got a concussion making a block at receiver. But I never got hurt taking hits back on kickoffs."

The most recent rule change is aimed at encouraging kick returners to accept touchbacks and take the additional five yards. Ever confident in his ability to break a game-changing play, though, Hester appears set to run it out nearly every chance he gets.

"If we're clicking, we can bring it back from pretty much anywhere; real talk,’’ Hester said. "If our return game is doing good, it's pretty much the green light. The deepest I've fielded one (with Atlanta) has been seven or eight yards in. The normal is about four or five yards deep."

Hester, 33, enters his 11th season sitting atop the NFL's all-time list in return touchdowns. He racked up an impressive 13 punt-return touchdowns and five kick-return scores across eight years with the Chicago Bears before taking another punt the distance with Atlanta in 2014.