Raiders offseason: Return game still needs jolt of electricity

Kickoffs may be diminished, but bringing back punts can still flip the field

If your to judge Tom McMahon’s Las Vegas Raiders special teams unit on the battery of long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer, place kicker Daniel Carlson, and punter and holder AJ Cole III alone, the grizzled coach has an elite group.

Beyond the kick squad, however, the Silver & Black severely lack in the return game. Sure, the NFL has diminished kickoff returns greatly in the name of player safety, but returning punts still remains in play and a field-flipping opportunity.

There was a time when it was guaranteed the Raiders would deploy an electrifying speedster to return punts. The team boasts an impressive backlog of highlight-reel return men (see the history section below).

This past season, the onus of both kickoff and punt returns was in the capable hands of veteran wide receiver DeAndre Carter, who is an unrestricted free agent. The 30-year-old San Jose-native returned 24 kickoffs for 22 yards with a long of 32. And he fielded 11 punts for 262 yards with a long of 40. Carter had his shining moments as the primary return man but it’s unclear if he’ll be back with the Raiders for the 2024 campaign.

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

In 2022, veteran running back Ameer Abdullah serves as the kickoff returner fielding 26 for 543 yards and a long of 33. The punt return duties were split between wide receivers Keelan Cole (13 returns for 79 yards, a long of 13) and Hunter Renfrow (11 for 74, long of 17). That performance from Renfrow was a vast difference from the 2021 season where he fielded 31 punts for 303 yards with a long return of 41 yards. A trio of players fielded kickoffs with Jalen Richard leading the way with 11 returns for 227 yards and a long of 30.

As you can see, it’s a group that’s been safe, efficient, but not spectacular.

You have to go back to the 2018 season to find a punt return for a touchdown — the heads-up play by Dwayne Harris that saw him house the boot 99 yards against the Denver Broncos. To find the last time a Raider took a kickoff the distance, you go back to the 2011 season when Jacoby Ford torched the Cleveland Browns for a 101-yard return.

Which brings us back to the present-day Raiders.

Abdullah is likely someone McMahon will lean on. The 30-year-old has the most experience and yardage tally on the roster in terms of kick returns — 142 for 3,487 and a long of 104. Despite that career-long return, he hasn’t housed a kickoff in his career and also didn’t return a single kick this past season for Las Vegas. One would think Abdullah can be the dual option and return both kickoffs and punts — like Carter did in 2023 — but in his 11 years in the league, he hasn’t registered one single punt return.

The other in-house option is Tre Tucker. The wide receiver, who will enter his second season in the NFL this offseason, has the speed and mentality for it. He was a productive kick returner for Cincinnati racking up two touchdowns and 1,670 yards on 67 returns. He only fielded five career punts for 43 yards as a Bearcat, however.

Las Vegas could try to get Tucker as many touches as he can in Year 2 as both a wideout and return man to maximize return on investment. Or the team could look to re-sign Carter or draft a prospect in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.

Texas’ speedy wide receiver Xavier Worthy not only dazzled at the NFL Combine with a blistering 4.21-second 40-yard dash time, he led the nation with 371 yards fielding punts in 2023. He housed one and fielded 22 overall. Worthy’s 40 time is one thing but his 5-foot-11 and 165-pound frame may be seen as to slight of frame for some NFL teams.

Another option for the Raiders is Penn State cornerback Dequan Hardy. Not the most productive nickel corner in the draft class but did lead the nation with two touchdowns on punt returns in 2023. He field 17 total for 248 yards and ran a respectable 4.38-second 40 at the combine. A special teams standout that can be equal electric return man and gunner should appeal to McMahon and the Raiders.

Raiders History

Hall of famer Tim Brown holds the all-time team punt return record with 320 returns for 3,272 yards. He housed three of those punt returns for touchdowns. That’s a distinction he shares with four other Raiders: George Atkinson, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Claude Gibson, and Phillip Buchanon.

Atkinson is No. 3 all-time with 148 punt returns for 1,247 yards and his three scores. Neal Colzie is No. 2 with 168 returns for 1,747 yards (no touchdowns).

In terms of kick returns, Chris Carr is the franchise leader with 201 returns for 4,841 yards (no touchdowns). Bo Roberson is second with 113 returns for 2,791 yards and one touchdown with Desmond Howard third with 110 returns for 2,358 yards (no touchdowns).

Ford leads the team all-time with four kick return touchdowns followed by Terry Kirby and Justin Miller with two apiece.