Another week, and another Player of the Week award for the Detroit Lions.
Wide receiver Kalif Raymond had 190 punt return yards against the Tennessee Titans last Sunday, highlighted by a 90-yard touchdown, and he has been named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 8.
Raymond fell 17 yards short of the NFL record for punt return yards in a game, set by LeRoy Irvin in 1981. His average of 38 yards per punt return against the Titans is the highest average in a game with at least five punt returns since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger.
Raymond also became the first player in Lions' history to have a punt return touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same game.
Kalif Raymond gets rewarded for day in the spotlight
Raymond is easy to forget about when we talk about players who are important to the Lions' success. But he is a capable punt returner, and when called upon to step up as an offensive piece he routinely does. He is a symbol and embodiment of the culture head coach Dan Campbell has built, as one of the first players the then-new regime took a close look at in 2021.
Campbell told the story after Raymond's big performance last Sunday.
"I told the story of Brad (Holmes) coming into my office in 2021. Early spring, we were fresh on the job and he said 'take a peek at this guy from Tennessee, he's really a returner, kind of a gadget (player), you think there's a place for him on offense?' I watched about 10 plays and I was like 'yeah, absolutely there is, I'd take this guy in a heartbeat.' So it's been a blessing ever since to get 'Lif here. What a pro he is. Guys love him. Coaches (love him). You talk about reliable. He's consistent in the way he prepares, the way he works and he does everything for us. He can play all the positions on offense. He's a dynamic returner."
This is Raymond's second Special Teams Player of the Week award. He also won it in Week 15 of the 2022 season against the New York Jets (another of his former teams, like the Titans), when he also returned a punt for a touchdown.
.@Lions WR Kalif Raymond joins Terry Fair as the only non-kicker/punter to win multiple Special Teams Player of the Week Awards for Detroit.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/iFm2vT9iVt
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) October 30, 2024
The Lions have now won a Player of the Week award in five straight games, as Raymond joins punter Jack Fox (Week 3), quarterback Jared Goff (Week 4), defensive back Brian Branch (Week 6) and kicker Jake Bates (Week 7). It truly should be six straight games, since Aidan Hutchinson was robbed after he tallied 4.5 sacks in Week 2.