When Kalif Raymond went down and didn't get up, Amon-Ra St. Brown knew "he's probably hurting really bad." There's no one more rugged than Raymond on the Lions' roster. Raymond eventually came to his feet and limped off the field after injuring his ankle on a punt return against the Colts last week, but had to be carted from the sideline to the locker room and was done for the day. It's not yet clear when he might return.
St. Brown fielded punts for Detroit in Raymond's absence, taking two returns for 15 yards and making one fair catch. He could see more work in that role moving forward, continuing Thursday against the Bears.
"That punt return is no joke," St. Brown said Tuesday. "It really isn’t, whether it’s catching the ball, making the right decision, trying to make guys miss, 11 guys trying to get you. I've known that, though."
The Lions have yet to solidify their punt return plans without Raymond, who's likely to miss at least a couple games. Using St. Brown, one of their most valuable offensive players, obviously comes with risk. Dan Campbell said Tuesday that they're "probably going to have a different returner" now that they have more time to prepare, but St. Brown remains a tempting option "because he's sure-handed ... and just so damn reliable."
"And if we need Saint in a critical, we’ll use him," Campbell said.
And if and when he gets the opportunity, St. Brown isn't one to play it safe.
"I’m never gonna play scared out there on the field," he said. "That’s just not in me. It never has been. If I decide to return it, I’m returning it. If I decide to fair catch it, I’ll fair catch it. But we got guys on our special teams that block really well, (Dave) Fipp does a great job of coaching them up. So like I said, if I’m gonna return it, I’m gonna return it. If we got a return up, that’s what it is. And if the gunner, or whoever it is, is close to me, then I’ll fair catch it.
"But each situation is different, if you’re up in the game, down in the game, so it really just depends."
St. Brown suffered a minor knee injury himself last week, but said Tuesday that he feels good and plans to play Thursday. Asked about the possibility of housing a punt with everyone watching on Thanksgiving, he smiled and said, "I actually thought about it last week because I hadn't scored."
"I was like, 'I gotta try to get in the end zone some way.' Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but I think scoring a punt return is probably one of the best feelings ever in terms of scoring a touchdown," said St. Brown. "Back in high school I did returns and I scored a few, and those were always the most fun, punt return or kick return touchdowns, because there's so very few in this league. To get one is special. I've seen Kalif return a few and the joy that he has is always amazing, so returning a punt would definitely be big accomplishment in my career."
St. Brown also returned punts during his time at USC, but never took one to the house. If he gets more chances moving forward, he'll be eyeing the end zone.
As for Raymond, Campbell said that the Lions are waiting on a second opinion on the ankle, but "the first word we got was positive." St. Brown, for what it's worth, made it sound like Raymond will return this season.
"I’m just glad that stuff came back pretty positive for him," he said. "I’m excited for him, I know he’ll be back and ready to go for us."