New bogus NFL rule puts Cowboys fan favorite firmly on the roster bubble

The NFL has passed new rules this week that could impact the Dallas Cowboys. Starting this upcoming season, teams can carry an emergency third quarterbacks on the game day roster without the QB counting as a roster spot.

The rule was met with praise on social media, so it wasn't a surprise when the league passed a rule that was universally panned by fans.

As the league moves towards eliminating kickoffs, it approved a rule involving fair catches. Essentially, the ball will be spotted at the receiving team's 25-yard line if there's a fair catch behind the receiving team's 25-yard line.

This is bad news for teams who boast elite return specialists. It's also bad news for return specialists who otherwise don't have a role on the team.

Cowboys fan favorite KaVontae Turpin sadly falls under the latter category. Following this change, Turpin might find himself on the roster bubble.

NFL's new kickoff rule could be bad news for Cowboys' KaVontae Turpin

Special teams coordinators are opposed the change? What a shocker. Fans are in the same boat and if players we're polled they'd likely share this dissent.

The rule doesn't eliminate kickoffs entirely. Folks might just see significantly fewer kick returns than they've grown accustomed to. That diminishes Turpin's value, however, which is sad after he ranked ninth in the league last season with 663 return yards as a rookie undrafted free agent.

Further, only three players averaged more yards per punt return than Turpin's 10.45 and his 24.15 average yards per kickoff ranked sixth in the league.

With this new rule, though, Turpin would be better off signaling a fair catch than attempting to return a kick in some cases. Reaching the 25-yard line is considered a good return, and teams can now attain that yardage on a kickoff by simply waving fair catch.

Turpin has the speed and open-field quickness to take any kick to the house and he often jolted Dallas last season with long returns of the kickoff and punt variety. He muffed some punts near the end of the year and made questionable calls taking kicks out of the end zone, but that was a willing trade given the sheer spark he provided throughout the campaign.

Does that change now? Will analytics seize the day and overrule Turpin's home run ability? It's impossible to say that this juncture, but we're admittedly worried about what the rule means for Turpin's chances of making the team.

If the Cowboys decide they're going to fair catch everything, it's hard to envision a role for Turpin. Fans called for him to get more touches on offense, but it stands to reason Deuce Vaughn will be the team's new gadget weapon.

Hopefully Turpin is able to overcome this bogus rule.