TAMPA, FL - DECEMBER 31: Running back Alvin Kamara #41 of the New Orleans Saints runs 106 yards on a kickoff return for a touchdown during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 31, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

Pereira: Kickoff is gone if new rules don't reduce concussions

Brian Blanco / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The NFL is altering the kick return for the 2018 season, hoping to decrease the high number of injuries that happen on the play.

But Mike Pereira, the league's former head of officiating, said Friday on 'PFT Live' that if the changes don't reduce concussions, the league will have to eliminate kickoffs altogether.

"If at the end of this year there are more concussions on kickoffs, forget it. It's gone," Pereira said, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.

Concussion rates are five times higher on kickoffs than on any other play, according to Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy

However, Pereira gave hope to fans of the kick return, saying that "if we have more returns and less concussions then the kickoff is here to stay, maybe forever."

For a refresher of the league's new kickoff rules, check out the video below:

Following today’s vote at the @NFL Spring League Meetings, here’s everything you need to know about the new kickoff rules for the upcoming 2018 season. The rule will be reevaluated next offseason. pic.twitter.com/YubLyMBR4g
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) May 22, 2018