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Will Who Return Punts for Pats?

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Since 2013 Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola have combined to return 190 punts for the Patriots. Last season, when Edelman went down, Amendola shouldered nearly the entire load with 27 punt returns. Bernard Reedy (who?) was second on the team with four. Now, with Amendola in Miami and Edelman looking at a four-game suspension, the Pats need a punt returner.

Patriots Punt Returns since 2013
Punt Punt Punt Punt Punt
Player Ret
▼		 PRYds TD Lng Y/R
Julian Edelman 96 1174 1 84 12.23
Danny Amendola 94 978 0 82 10.40
Cyrus Jones 11 73 0 21 6.64
Keshawn Martin 8 92 0 21 11.50
Bernard Reedy 4 55 0 23 13.75
Patrick Chung 4 10 0 7 2.50
Chris Harper 3 17 0 10 5.67
Damaris Johnson 2 3 0 3 1.50
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/17/2018.

Cyrus Jones, coming off an ACL tear and limited all offseason, was an electric punt returner at Alabama, with four touchdowns in his last season. Before the injury, Jones would’ve been the most explosive candidate on the roster. He could be a PUP candidate.

Behind him, there’s Riley McCarron, a slot receiver candidate who spent last season on the practice squad. He had 19 punt returns at Iowa, one for touchdown as a senior.

But the possible favorite? Rookie Braxton Berrios returned 47 punts at Miami, including one touchdown as a senior when he averaged 15.9 yards-per-return. Jones averaged 12.6 in his senior season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nXOewTffgQ

By the end of the season, we can expect Edelman will handle the majority of the punt return duties, especially in the important games. The development of a new punt returner and slot receiver could go hand-in-hand just as they did when Edelman joined the team behind Wes Welker.

Jobes are available, it will be exciting to see which young players rise to the challenge.