The Lions have a new return man. He has more returns than any active NFL player.
Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said Thursday that recently-signed veteran DeAndre Carter will serve as the Lions' primary returner moving forward, handling punts and some kickoffs after the Lions lost Tom Kennedy to a season-ending knee injury.
"DeAndre Carter's got a lot of experience. He'll probably step in and return punts for us, and kickoffs for us along with (Jacob) Saylors, and we'll just keep going as it's been," said Fipp. "Obviously (Dominic) Lovett factors in to some degree, Lucky Jackson's had some experience doing it a little bit, but none of those guys the same type of experience that DeAndre's had."
Signed by Detroit on Monday, Carter has 299 career returns to his name. The next closest among active players is Ray-Ray McCloud with 266. Third on the list is former Lions returner/receiver Kalif Raymond with 262.
Carter's 1,508 career return yards are second among active players to Raymond.
Carter broke into the NFL in 2015 as an undrafted free agent out of Sacramento State and bounced around practice squads for the next three years. He didn't play in his first game until 2018 with the Eagles, whose special teams coordinator at the time was Fipp. Carter took over return duties for Philadelphia when Darren Sproles went down with an injury, but was waived when Sproles returned later that year.
From there, he had stints with the Texans, Bears, Washington, Chargers, Raiders, Bears again and then the Browns. And now the Lions, his 12th NFL team.
"Obviously we don't know a ton in terms of how he is today, but I know how he is firsthand," said Fipp. "In 2018, he joined us. He had gotten cut by four teams and he had bounced around and he kept on fighting, trying to make it. We were in Week 4, Sproles went down, and then he came in. We were playing against Tennessee and he did what he does (two punt returns for 42 yards). He catches the ball, he competes, he gets downhill, he's quick, he's very competitive.
"I mean, his story is the ultimate story of just overcoming all the obstacles, and he plays the game that way. He loves playing football. I've always respected his game. I actually didn't even bring him up (to our front office). Our pro personnel guys had him on the list of a couple guys that we looked at and worked out."
Carter played last year for the Browns, averaging 9.3 yards on six punt returns and 24.9 yards on 11 kick returns before suffering a knee injury against, coincidentally, the Lions in Week 4 that ended his season.
His best season as a punt returner came in 2022 with the Chargers when he averaged 11.7 yards on 29 returns. That same season he also caught 46 passes for 538 yards and three touchdowns, but he won't have a real receiving role in Detroit.
Carter's best season as a kick returner came just two years ago with the Bears when he averaged 31.9 yards on 15 returns.
Kennedy averaged 13.2 yards on punt returns in Detroit's first five games this season. He and Saylors each averaged about 25 yards on kick returns. Saylors will continue to return kicks alongside Carter.
