Bears Appoint Trent Taylor as Punt Returner, Continue to Keep Faith in Velus Jones Jr.
The Bears are welcoming a new starting punt returner. General Manager Ryan Poles revealed on Wednesday that wide receiver and return specialist Trent Taylor is in the process of joining the team and will take over punt return duties once the signing is official.
Taylor was released by the Bengals on Tuesday during their roster cutdown to 53 players. His consistent performance as a return man was a significant factor in the Bears' decision to acquire him. "When the ball is punted, you can feel confident enough to step away for a moment and come back," Poles noted.
Taylor, a five-year NFL veteran with prior stints in Cincinnati and San Francisco, has 89 career punt returns, averaging 9.7 yards per return. In contrast, Velus Jones Jr. averaged 7 yards per return last year, and Dante Pettis, who is currently on season-ending IR, had a 9.1 yards per return average last year, a substantial improvement over his career average before joining the Bears.
Tyler Scott had also emerged as a contender in the punt return department but didn't show enough promise to secure the role. Jones Jr.'s recent mishap�muffing a punt in the preseason�did not help his case. Special Teams Coordinator Richard Hightower indicated that Jones Jr. was not on a tighter leash but got injured shortly thereafter and couldn't return to demonstrate his reliability.
However, Poles emphasized that sidelining Jones Jr. from punt returns doesn't mean the Bears have given up on him. "We still want to get Velus comfortable in that role," said Poles. "We're going to keep working with him and others to build back the confidence he had in college and earlier in his career."
The team also plans to further develop Scott as a punt returner. But for now, Trent Taylor is set to be the Bears' go-to guy for punt returns.
| POLL | ||
31 AOUT | 41 ANSWERS Bears Appoint Trent Taylor as Punt Returner, Continue to Keep Faith in Velus Jones Jr. Should the Bears cut Velus Jones? | ||
| Yes | 22 | 53.7 % |
| No | 19 | 46.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
