Who will be the Seattle Seahawks punt returner in 2015?
By Keith Myers
January 10, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin (89) catches a touchdown pass against the Carolina Panthers during the first half in the 2014 NFC Divisional playoff football game at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
Current Options
Two of the best internal options, Jeremy Lane and Paul Richardson are recovering from ACL surgeries. Neither is expected to be available at the start of the season. It would be a mistake to ask them to field punts right away once they finally return.
That leaves the Seahawks with a trio of guys who are physically capable of being punt returners. Unfortunately, all are too important to the team’s success to realistically put them out there to return punts all the time.
Richard Sherman – Sherman has been a backup punt returner for the last couple seasons, and has actually been back to receive punts a couple of times. It is one thing to stick him out there in an emergency. It is another to risk the league’s best CB on a regular basis for something like returning punts.
Doug Baldwin – Seattle’s top receiver would be a great punt returner if given a chance. He is also important to the success of the offense, which makes it unlikely that the Seahawks would risk having him out there for punts.
Earl Thomas – Pete Carroll wanted Thomas to return punts last season. That experiment lasted all of one game before the Seahawks pulled the plug and gave the job to Walters. It was never a good idea to have the defense’s most important player as a punt returner.
Kevin Norwood – Of all the in-house options, Norwood makes the most sense entirely because he is the least crucial to the team if he were to get hurt. He is also the least qualified. Norwood has decent hands and some agility, but he’s a possession receiver. He isn’t going to remind anyone of Leon Washington.
Next: Free Agent Options