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Eagles Punt Return Opitions Shrink By Two, So Who Can Do The Job?

Originally posted on Philadelphia Eagles on SI
By Ed Kracz | Last updated Aug 26, 2025 3:38 PM ET

The list of qualified punt returners shrank by two when the Eagles cut Ainias Smith and Taylor Morin in the hours leading up to Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline. Neither had done the job in the NFL, but both had the most recent experience doing it in college.

Morin, who was an undrafted free agent signed in April, had 76 punt returns in 61 games at Wake Forest. Smith didn’t do it last year, his first in the NFL after the Eagles drafted him in the fifth round, but he had 82 returns in 50 games for Texas A&M.

The release of Morin and Smith could bode well for Darius Cooper, the undrafted free agent from Division I Tarleton State who was second in the nation in yards receiving last year. Cooper isn’t a punt returner, though. He did get some reps at it in camp, but do the Eagles want to trust a player who has never done it in the opener against the Cowboys?

“He keeps improving,” said special teams coordinator Michael Clay earlier this month. “Every day is kind of a new day for him in terms of the special teams world, but he is taking it on himself. One, he is just a great human being, and second, he is very coachable, which is a lot of these guys. He is trying to get better each and every day just like anybody else will be, whether you're a seven-year veteran or a rookie playing special teams for the first time.”

Here Are Some Options For Eagles To Use As Punt Returners

The other scenario could be the Eagles keep Avery Williams, who signed a one-year deal in the offseason and is a punt returner. A fifth-round pick of the Falcons in 2021 out of Boise State, Williams can return punts and kicks, leading the NFL in punt return average in 2022 at 16.2 yards per game. Last year in Atlanta, he averaged 9.3 yards per punt return and 27.2 yards per kickoff return.

Clay is on record as saying it would be ideal to have one player handle both punt and kickoff return. Maybe Williams is that guy.

Another possibility is the return of Britain Covey. First, however, Covey would have to be released by the Rams, who signed him as a free agent this offseason. Covey was very good at it during his three-year run with the Eagles, including averaging 14.4 yards per return two seasons ago. He can also return kickoffs.

The player the Eagles would prefer not to do it is Cooper DeJean, because he won’t be coming off the field on defense and they would like to take those duties her performed as a punt returner last year off his full plate.

Other candidates could include receivers Jahan Dotson and/or John Metchie III, though neither of them has returned a punt in their short NFL careers.

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Eagles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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