Atlanta Falcons wide receiver and return specialist Devin Hester isn't pleased with the NFL's decision to move touchbacks from the 20-yard line to the 25-yard line to improve player safety and reduce injuries on kick returns. 

"It’s like taking away a job from people," Hester told Vaughn McClure of ESPN. 

It's hardly surprising Hester would be annoyed by the new rules. The star returner has made a living as a threat on special teams, returning five kickoffs and 14 punts for touchdowns in his career. His 20 total returns for touchdown—he also returned a missed field goal for a score—are the most in NFL history.

And Hester, at least, doesn't think that kickoffs are any more dangerous than any other part of the game.

"I got a concussion making a block at receiver," he said. "But I never got hurt taking hits back on kickoffs."

Of course, kickoffs are often much more dangerous for the blockers and defenders that collide at full speed during the play, hence the NFL's continual tweaking of the play. The league also moved kickoffs up five yards to the 35-yard line in 2011, and as McClure noted, the percentage of touchbacks has raised dramatically, from 16.4 percent in 2010 to 56 percent last season.

It's unclear if this new rule will actually deter the frequency of returns, however. From a strategic standpoint, kicking teams may make adjustments to force returns, as former NFL kicker Jay Feely noted in March:

That will require an adjustment for many kickers and a good bit of skill. And some teams may conclude that the difference between a team starting at the 25-yard line and the 20-yard line doesn't offer a significant strategic advantage and will continue emphasizing touchbacks.

Falcons kicker Matt Bryant remains uncertain what approach teams will take.

"There are a bunch of factors with each team, so it’s hard to say," Bryant told McClure. "It will depend on each coach’s philosophy."

Hester, for one, told McClure he isn't afraid to take the ball out of the end zone, even on deep kickoffs:

If we’re clicking, we can bring it back from pretty much anywhere; real talk. If our return game is doing good, it’s pretty much the green light. The deepest I’ve fielded one [with Falcons] has been 7 or 8 yards in. The normal is about 4 or 5 yards deep. 

As far as how the other team kicks off, it's all going to depend on one type of returner you have back there. If they believe in their coverage team they are going to try it.

Hester, of course, may not have many opportunities to do so. At 33, he'll be fighting for a roster spot in Atlanta this season after only appearing in five games last year and failing to secure a single reception.

If the Falcons' strategy is to have returners take touchbacks rather than run the ball out of the end zone given these new rules, Hester will likely be deemed expendable by the team.

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