From Mel Gray to Eddie Drummond to Jamal Agnew, the Detroit Lions have a history of employing some of the NFL’s best return men. Add another one to the list.
Lions punt returner Kalif Raymond was named second-team All-Pro on Friday, the only Lions player picked for the first- or second-team.
Raymond finished second in the NFL with a 13.2-yard average on punt returns this season and scored the first return touchdown of his career (47 yards) to spark a Week 15 win over the New York Jets.
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Marcus Jones of the New England Patriots, who led the NFL with five punt returns of 20 or more yards, earned first-team All-Pro honors.
Raymond is the first Lions player to be named first- or second-team All-Pro since punter Jack Fox was a second-team selection in 2020. Agnew (in 2017), Drummond (2004) and Gray (1990-91, 1994) earned first-team honors as return men for the Lions.
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Raymond also set a career-high this season with 616 yards receiving, second-most on the team, and only the Atlanta Falcons’ Avery Williams had a higher punt return average (16.2 yards).
“He’s our iron man,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said after the Jets game. “He does everything for us and he doesn’t bat an eye. He doesn’t whine. He doesn’t complain. It’s never too hard. It’s never this job is too much. He just goes. ‘What do you need me to do?’ and he goes. You can’t have enough of those guys.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.