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Bengals' Charlie Jones showcases penchant for return TDs vs. Bears
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Charlie Jones. Sam Greene/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bengals' Charlie Jones showcases penchant for return TDs vs. Bears

Through his first three NFL seasons, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Charlie Jones has returned a punt or a kickoff for a touchdown each year.

During his rookie season in 2023, the fourth-round pick out of Purdue returned a punt for an 81-yard TD in a 27-24 Week 2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Last season, he returned a kickoff for a 100-yard TD in a 21-14 Week 7 win over the Cleveland Browns.    

Once again, he scored a return TD in Sunday's home game against the Chicago Bears. On the game's opening kickoff, Jones took it from the Bengals' 2-yard line to the house for a 98-yard TD. According to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, entering Sunday, there had only been one kickoff-return TD this season. 

Jones now has two kickoff-return TDs through three seasons. Citing ESPN Research, ESPN's Ben Baby shared he's the only player to have multiple kickoff-return TDs during this span.

What else should fans know about Charlie Jones? 

Jones also played for Iowa and Buffalo over the course of his six-year college career. However, most of his collegiate success came with Purdue, where he set the school record for receiving yards in a season (1,361) in 2022. 

Since then, he has mainly served as a return specialist for the Bengals. Cincinnati, of course, features two of the best WRs in the league in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, so it hasn't needed Jones to assume a larger workload. 

Through three seasons with the team, Jones has just eight receptions for 69 yards and no touchdown catches. Entering Sunday's game against the Bears, he had no receptions this season. Jones may never become a star wideout. At least he already has more return TDs than many players will have over the course of their careers.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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