Bears top position battles to watch: No. 2, punt and kick return, taking advantage of new rules
Bears training camp is less than a month away and all eyes will be on Chicago this summer. The Bears have the No. 1 overall draft pick in Caleb Williams, and they will be the featured team on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”
It’s a good time to be a Bears fan.
Also taking center stage during camp, which begins July 19, will be the position battles heading into the 2024 season. The Bears added significant talent to the roster over the offseason, and that’s only going to make it harder for some players to win starting jobs.
This week, we’re ranking the top five position battles to watch during training camp. Here’s a look at No. 2 on the list. Check back on Friday to see No. 1 on the countdown.
No. 2: punt and kick return
Returning players:
Velus Jones Jr., Dante Pettis, Tyler Scott, Khalil Herbert
Departed players:
Trent Taylor
Newcomers:
DeAndre Carter, Rome Odunze, Ian Wheeler
Why it’s worth watching:
Punt return and kick return are two highly distinct jobs. Return men are typically better at one than the other. It’s rare to find a player who can do both jobs well.
Last season Trent Taylor served as the punt return man in Chicago, but he left via free agency. Velus Jones Jr. and Tyler Scott returned kicks, although the touchback rate in 2023 was higher than ever. A change in the kickoff rule in 2024 is projected to increase kickoff returns dramatically. That will make it even more important to have a good return man.
Jones projects as the kick returner on this Bears team, but the signing of return specialist DeAndre Carter could make it interesting. Also in contention could be Scott, running back Khalil Herbert and undrafted rookie running back Ian Wheeler.
As a rookie in 2022, Jones averaged 27.6 yards a kick return, which ranked in the top five in the NFL. Last season, with fewer teams kicking returnable balls, Jones had only 16 returns in 14 games.
The Bears drafted Jones with a third-round pick in 2022. He has never contributed much at the wide receiver position, but if he can win the kick return job again it will give him a chance to contribute in what should be a meaningful way under the new rules.
Carter has averaged 22.4 yards a kick return throughout six NFL seasons. He has returned 118 kicks, including one for a touchdown. Carter has been a better punt returner than a kick returner, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t win the kick return job.
On punts, Carter has averaged 9.8 yards a return on 132 career returns. He finished third in the NFL in 2022 when he averaged 11.7 yards a punt return as a member of the Chargers. He has never returned a punt for a touchdown, but he has been pretty reliable over his career as a punt returner. He hasn’t fumbled more than three times in a season since 2018.
The Bears tested out rookie Rome Odunze on punt return this spring. Odunze returned only three punts in college, but one was an 83-yard touchdown return.
Jones struggled as a punt returner in 2022, fumbling on two key fourth-quarter punt returns. He lost the job to Pettis. Pettis averaged 9.1 yards a punt return in 2022 but missed all of 2023 due to injury.
Carter is probably the favorite to win the punt return job, but the Bears have options.