We’re in Week 4 of Detroit Lions training camp and we still don’t know who is going to be returning kicks for this team once the season starts. There’s a brand new kick off format that really lends itself to players that are looking to break a big return. The Lions have some speedy guys that could fill the role.
I’ve been personally wondering all offseason if having experience in returning kicks in this new format in the USFL, XFL or UFL could provide any sort of advantage when it comes to selecting the Lions’ next kick returner. I spoke with Lions’ special teams coordinator Dave Fipp on Monday and this is what he told me on that.
“Yeah, probably to some degree, like they’ve had reps doing it or whatever. So I would say, yeah, it’s probably an advantage.” Fipp said. “That, being said, I think these guys are such good athletes, right? It wouldn’t take long for another guy to pick it up. You know what I mean?”
The Lions have two guys in particular that have already worked in this format previous to the NFL switching to it. One is Maurice Alexander who actually led the USFL in return yards in 2022 as a member of the Philadelphia Stars. The other is Kaden Davis who had return duty for the Michigan Panthers in the USFL in 2023.
So far we’ve seen Alexander taking a lot of the reps there in the preseason game, but we’ve also seen a lot more guys in that area during training camp. So make of it what you will. Like Fipp said, guys can learn the system and pick it up in due time, so right now nobody is set in stone at the return the position.
But, if we had to guess, based off the preseason game and Fipp’s comments, Maurice Alexander might have a real shot to win that role in 2024. It helps that we’ve also seen him have some preseason success at the return role in the recent past.