Kickoff returns generate four times as many injuries as other plays, so the NFL made rules over the years that resulted in fewer of them — returns and injuries.

But touchbacks are boring and a waste of time, so the league came up with more changes going into this season that are supposed to lead to more returns but fewer high-speed collisions.

Sounds like a good compromise on the surface. In the process, though, one of the game’s most exciting plays was eliminated.

Remember when the Saints started the second half of the Super Bowl in 2010 with a successful onside kick? They trailed the Colts 10-6 at halftime. The recovery on the kick that coach Sean Payton code-named “ambush” led to a touchdown, and New Orleans went on to win 31-17.

That can’t happen now. Because of the new kickoff formations and rules, you can only try an onside kick (or two, maximum) in the fourth quarter.

And you have to announce your intent.

By the way, there’s a new rule for all you bank robbers out there. You now must call the financial institution’s security desk and let them know what you’re up to, 25 seconds before your arrival.

Onside kicks rarely succeed when everyone knows they’re coming. If anything, rules should be adjusted the other way, to help teams have a fighting chance at a thrilling comeback.

If you don’t have a dog in the fight which do you prefer? The clock going down to zero with a ball being thrown into the end zone, or the players walking off the field after a kneel-down?

I like the idea the NFL experimented with in the 2020 Pro Bowl and that other leagues use, which is kind of like a version of one-on-one basketball’s make-it-take-it. Instead of kicking off when you score, you can elect to what amounts to a fourth-and-long from a predetermined yard line on your side of the field, with one play to get 12 or 15 or however many yards make sense for the league. Succeed, and you get a fresh set of downs; fail, and your opponent gets the ball.

Even if a version of this is implemented by the NFL someday, it wouldn’t take the sting out of the death of the surprise onside kick.

Deception and the element of surprise are a big part of football.

We might not normally think of staples like play-action passes, draws, screens and zone blitzes as trick plays, but they are. The same as exotic calls like double reverse, flea flicker, tackle-eligible pass, and fake kicks, they are plays with more likelihood of success if the opponents don’t expect them.

When you change the rules so that a byproduct is the elimination of a high-risk, high-reward option like a surprise onside kick, the NFL becomes less interesting.

What if a rule change resulted in no more trying to steal home or hidden ball tricks in baseball?

Texas Hold ’Em would be mostly about luck if you weren’t allowed to do things like check-raise all-in with 2-7 offsuit.

So, what about all this excitement that the new rules are supposed to generate because of more returns and fewer touchbacks?

There were many more returns in the preseason, but that can be chalked up to experimentation because those games don’t count and coaches wanted their players to get used to the rule changes.

We’ve had just two regular-season games before most of the NFL starts today. But if those are any indication, you still don’t need to rush back from your fridge foray or lua break for fear of missing a happy return.

“The 2024 season is underway!”

Veteran sportscaster Mike Tirico shouted with the appropriate enthusiasm, but then quickly murmured.

“… with a touchback.”

It was the first of nine on 11 kickoffs in the Ravens-Chiefs opener Thursday. In the Packers-Eagles game Friday, 10 of 13 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks. The five kicks that were returned averaged 23.8 yards — no Devin Hesteresque breakaways.

Maybe we’ll see something different today, or as the season progresses.

But one thing we won’t is the surprise onside kick, and that’s a shame. There’s got to be a way to revive it, and decrease injuries on kickoffs, too.