When Kalif Raymond went down with a foot injury in the third quarter of Week 12 against the Indianapolis Colts, the Detroit Lions lost one of the best punt returners in the NFL. Amon-Ra. St. Brown filled in for the rest of that game, and with Raymond landing on IR Maurice Alexander (since waived and brought back on the practice squad) handled punt return duties on Thanksgiving Day.
On Monday, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp revealed Jameson Williams and cornerback Terrion Arnold have been clamoring for opportunities to return punts. Williams himself said last week he asked Fipp about doing so after Raymond went down against the Colts.
Using someone like Williams, or Arnold for that matter, as a return man exposes them to extra injury risk (as seen when St. Brown did it against the Colts). But Fipp clearly appreciates their willingness to volunteer to do it, and for as long as Raymond is out all options may be on the table.
"I love it, it doesn’t mean they’re going to get that", Fipp said. "But I love the fact that they want to do it because there are some other players that probably are hoping that their number’s not called."
Jameson Williams confirms his desire to return punts
Williams spoke with reporters on Monday. When he asked about what Fipp said, he confirmed his desire to get a shot at returning punts.
"I've been asking him ever since. I went up to him in that game, cause I seen St. Brown about to go back there," Williams said Monday. "I'm like, ‘What's going on?’ Cause me and Fipp, we joke around a lot. We're real close, got real good relationships. So I went up to him playing like, 'What's going on? Why (am I) not back there?' But I caught a couple punts this week in practice, and it’s not nothing that's on my mind, but if it happens, it happens."
Williams confirmed to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press he hasn't returned punts since high school, but during his final season at Alabama he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same game. He clearly thinks he can make a difference in the return game in the NFL (he's probably not wrong), it's just a matter of if he gets the chance.