New NFL rule could cost Raiders kicker a job. And he’s OK with that.

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Daniel Carlson could be losing his job this season, and he’s just fine with it.

The two-time All-Pro kicker still will be counted on for field goals and extra points, but there is a possibility someone else could handle kickoffs as the Raiders try to figure out how to handle the NFL’s complicated new kickoff rules.

“If that’s something we can take advantage of, then I’m all for it because I just want to win football games,” Carlson said. “Right now, everything is kind of fair play.”

One potential edge would be putting an extra tackler on the field to help guard against game-changing returns. The player who kicks off is the only defender who can move before the ball hits the ground or is touched by the return team. The kicker can’t cross the 50-yard line, but a speedy player who can time his run just right could provide a huge boost for the coverage unit.

The Raiders are considering all options as they explore how to deal with one of the most drastic rule changes in decades.

Working it out

Carlson took the majority of the reps during Wednesday’s practice at Jack Hammett Sports Complex. Punter AJ Cole took the rest, some off the tee and others using a dropkick style.

But even though the Raiders have two of the most talented right legs in the NFL at their disposal, there is no shortage of options. For some players, it could even be a way to make the roster.

Rookie safety Phalen Sanford tried some kickoffs during one practice, then spent several minutes afterward working with Carlson on technique. Linebacker Luke Masterson and cornerback Sam Webb also took reps. Earlier this week, linebacker Tommy Eichenberg and cornerback Jack Jones participated in kickoff practice.

“A lot of good effort,” Carlson said. “Some guys are doing a really good job, and some guys have been cut (told they are not good enough to kick). They’re great athletes. It’s funny when some ask me questions about how to kick, and I’m like, ‘Play 10 years of soccer. That usually helps.’ ”

The decision facing special teams coordinator Tom McMahon is whether the advantage of having an extra tackler is enough to outweigh the edge Carlson — or even Cole — would provide. As specialists, they have the ability to place kickoffs more accurately and with different spin and angle, from low bouncing line drives to knuckleballs.

McMahon played coy when asked about the possibility of Jones handling kickoffs, though he and Masterson have done an admirable job with their opportunities.

“I haven’t seen Jack Jones as a kicker,” McMahon said. “He plays corner, and he’s working some returns. That’s all I’ve seen Jack do.”

Jones lined up to take his reps as a kicker a couple of hours later Wednesday, but was instructed by coaches to get out of line and not participate in the drill.

Is he or isn’t he?

McMahon and Carlson indicated that the veteran kicker was doing tackling drills in case he handles kickoffs. But Cole, a close friend of Carlson’s, questioned that claim.

“It must be in his room late at night with some pillows set up on his bed and he’s jumping on them like a little kid,” said Cole, laughing. “But I’ve seen no tackling drills. That’s fiction.”

Either way, special teams tackling will see a renewed emphasis.

“There’s 10 plays a game now that it used to be you could hide guys and kick touchbacks,” McMahon said. “There’s no hiding anymore, and they get that. Everybody has to contribute. And everybody has to tackle and block. Everybody has to strain. You can’t put 10 guys out there on kickoffs and one of them can’t tackle.”

The kicker would make that 11 players.

“Yeah, no question,” McMahon said. “The kicker has to tackle, whoever that guy is. So Daniel Carlson is going to have to tackle.”

Constantly evolving

The rule seems to have accomplished its main goal of breathing life into what had become a dead play in the NFL as teams search for the right answers.

McMahon said about 70 percent of what he and his staff formulate in the film room in regards to the rule doesn’t work the way they envisioned when put into practice on the field.

They will get more information when preseason games start. McMahon said he hopes teams decide to put the ball in play and work on strategy instead of trying to conceal their plans.

“I’m excited to see the first one, but I’m really excited to get through the first two preseason weeks and try to get to 32 games where we can watch maybe 320 reps of this play,” he said. “Hopefully everyone is kicking off and covering, everyone is returning, just so we can get a good look at the play and learn from it.”

It doesn’t help that the rule keeps evolving. Carlson said he had been working to perfect a particular kick for much of the offseason only to get a clarification from the league last week that the ball couldn’t sit in the tee the way he had been working on.

“We’re learning on the fly and having to be creative about it,” he said. “They’re making different rules as we go. You have to adapt as we go.”

That could include a return to the old way of kicking the ball through the end zone for a touchback, which now would give teams the ball at the 30-yard line instead of the 25. McMahon conceded that could happen if there are too many long returns.

For now, there could be chaos.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.