Detroit Lions Sign Veteran Returner DeAndre Carter After Tom Kennedy Injury

After Tom Kennedy suffered a season-ending MCL injury, the Detroit Lions quickly made a move to fill the void, signing veteran returner DeAndre Carter.

Carter has played for a lengthy list of teams since entering the NFL in 2015, including the Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans, Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears and, most recently, the Cleveland Browns.

Although Carter was brought in primarily to handle punt-return duties, he has experience contributing on offense as well. Across 111 career games, he has recorded 117 receptions for 1,331 yards and six touchdowns. While he likely won’t have a significant role in Detroit’s offense, his experience provides the Lions with additional depth and a veteran option if injuries impact their receiving corps.

Carter has also recorded 155 punt returns for 1,508 yards, averaging 9.7 yards per return. That average is lower than Kennedy’s 13.8 yards per return, but Carter has a much larger sample size, while Kennedy had just 10 career punt returns. Carter also boasts a 42-yard long return, nearly double Kennedy’s career-best mark of 22 yards.

Ball security is another important factor. Carter has recorded just two fumbles over the past two seasons, with one in each year, further demonstrating his reliability as a return specialist. He also brings 940 career special teams snaps to Detroit, adding valuable experience to a unit that will need to adjust following Kennedy’s injury.

What Carter brings to the table that Kennedy didn’t, however, is the ability to handle kickoff returns. Carter has accumulated 3,399 kickoff-return yards and scored an explosive 101-yard kickoff-return touchdown during his career. His versatility gives Dan Campbell time to evaluate both punt- and kickoff-return duties for Carter.

With the Lions entering their bye week, the coaching staff had additional time to evaluate potential replacements before ultimately settling on Carter. Now, the veteran returner is expected to take over as Detroit’s primary return specialist when the Lions return to action in Week 7 against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field.