Detroit Lions Tom Kennedy Has Skills Beyond Football Measurables

The Detroit Lions locker room erupted in joy when veteran Tom Kennedy earned a game ball from head coach Dan Campbell.

Kennedy, 29, was signed back in 2019 as an undrafted NFL free agent.

His journey in the NFL has been as a journeyman who has spent most of his time on the Lions' practice squad.

Many could become disheartened and lose belief that they have what it takes to remain in the league. Kennedy has continued to work, improve and has maximized his opportunities when presented to him.

Now on the 53-man active roster, Kennedy was instrumental in the kick return game against the Dallas Cowboys.

With veteran Kalif Raymond returning, it gives special teams coordinator Dave Fipp a great problem to figure out.

“Great problem to have. Obviously number one I would say this, I can’t tell you how ecstatic I am for Tom Kennedy," said Fipp. "I mean, there’s nobody who deserves the attention and the recognition more than him in this building. I mean a guy who’s just worked his tail off every single day the whole time he’s been here. Never, ever complained about the reps he’s getting, the opportunity he’s getting. Whether he knows he can do something better than maybe some other guy who’s getting his shot before him.

"And then for him to get the opportunity and then go out there and make the most of it, you’ve got to give him a lot of credit. Obviously there was a bunch of guys blocking for him who were competing also. But, I always say that in the return game, it starts with the returner and the great returners make great blockers. And the better that guy does with the ball in his hands, the better those blockers end up doing. And all of those guys blocking for a good returner know that. And then the bad returners, they say, ‘Well, there’s no holes and the blocking’s not very good.’ And it’s like well, be careful because some of that might be because of you."

The veteran coach, who is able to eloquently get his point across every week, shared why Kennedy has lasted in a league that moves on quickly from players.

As Fipp explained, "My dad used to always tell me when I was a kid. He would say, he flew in the military and was a pilot in the Vietnam era and he said the one thing the military could not measure or figure out – they spend a lot of money training pilots, well they obviously want to train the pilots who are going to be good pilots and make it through and not waste their money on guys who fall out and don’t make it. He said they would put a lot of money into testing and trying to evaluate who were going to be good pilots and then bad pilots.

"They would do all kinds of tests. Mental tests, whatever, physical tests with these guys. And he would always tell me, he said, ‘Man, the one thing they have not figured out how to measure is what’s in your heart and what’s in your mind.’ And that’s the greatest thing about this game too, you just can’t measure that stuff."

Kennedy's grit and toughness make him a perfect fit in the locker room. A player everybody can relate to and that everybody in the organization respects.

"When it comes out like it did for him on that game, it’s just incredible to watch," said Fipp. "The power of the human spirit, a guy who wants to go make a play and just decides he’s not going to let this opportunity pass him by, you just can’t measure it. And sometimes a man is probably sitting there waiting for three years or whatever it is. Four years, watching other people get turns and that just builds inside of somebody, and he gets the chance and he just lets it rip. So, it was awesome.”

Kennedy will remain as kick returner

With Raymond back from an ankle injury, Fipp has the ability to utilize two skilled returners, one on kickoffs and one on punt returns.

Kennedy is expected to remain as a kickoff returner, while Raymond will still handle punts.

“Yeah, he’ll be back there on kickoff return. Obviously punt return’s tough because most of the time you can only put one guy back there, maybe you put two, something like that. But anyway, we’ll find out," said Fipp. "I mean Kalif’s obviously an incredible player for us, so I would see him starting off as our punt returner and I would definitely see Tom Kennedy being part of the kick return game. But yeah, if we get Leaf back, I would see him returning punts for sure.

"That also helps balance Leaf’s load. I mean he plays a lot of offense for us. You guys asked me that question about (Cowboys wideout KaVontae) Turpin," Fipp added. "That does take something out of you when you’re playing a lot of reps. Now those guys can still turn it on and make a difference on any play, but that will help balance his workload too.”