Detroit Lions: Position by position breakdown of the 53-man roster
By Reuben Gasee
Special Teams
- Kicker: Matt Prater #5
- Punter: Jack Fox #3
- Long snapper: Don Muhlbach #48
- Punter Returner: Jamal Agnew #39
- Punter Returner: Danny Amendola #80
- Kick returner: Jamal Agnew #39
- Kick returner: Ty Johnson #31
The special teams unit in football is so overlooked that some teams just place whoever there. Not the Lions though as they have compiled a great special teams unit that is very contributional to the team.
Matt Prater is one of the better kickers in the league. Last season, Prater only missed one extra point attempt and was 26/31 in field goal attempts with his longest kick being 56 yards. Prater holds the NFL record for the longest field which occurred back in 2013 when he was a member of the Denver Broncos when he successfully nailed one 64 yards out.
Jack Fox is entering his rookie season in the NFL at the age of 24. He beat out punter Arryn Siposs during training camp for the starting punter job.
Don Muhlbach is returning for his 17th season which he’s spent his whole career in Detroit. Muhlbach has done very well as a long snapper for the Lions and he’s such an underappreciated member of the team.
Jamal Agnew will serve as both the primary punt and kick returner which he has done pretty well at returning the ball off kicks. Last season, he averaged 9.2 yards per return off punts including a touchdown where on kick returns, he averaged 26.7 yards with a touchdown.
Amendola will serve as a backup punt returner whereas Ty Johnson will serve as the second-string kick returner.
The Lions special teams unit should be good as they have a good kicker, an experienced long snapper and a good kick/punt returner. Question marks may arise at the punter position though but we should definitely give him a chance to succeed.