Bears: One explosive position battle to look forward to in training camp
The Chicago Bears have tons of new talent that will be competing for major roles in training camp. One position battle that won’t get the attention it probably deserves will be at punt returner. Dante Pettis did a fine job handling the majority of the team’s opportunities in 2022. He totaled 18 returns for 163 […]
The Chicago Bears have tons of new talent that will be competing for major roles in training camp. One position battle that won’t get the attention it probably deserves will be at punt returner.
Dante Pettis did a fine job handling the majority of the team’s opportunities in 2022. He totaled 18 returns for 163 yards (9.1 AVG). Pettis also made contributions in the passing game, though he was mostly a rotational player.
The Bears also have Velus Jones Jr. who was expected to lock down this job after they spent a third-round pick on him just a year ago.
Jones struggled mightily in the return game with a couple of costly fumbles early in the season. He returned just five punts for 35 yards, and will need to show improvement in this area if he intends on cracking the team’s 53-man roster.
Those two provide some explosiveness at punt returner, but rookie CB Tyrique Stevenson could throw a wrench in this particular position battle. Though the Bears will likely lean on Stevenson in the secondary, he does bring some experience returning punts from his time with Florida.
In 2022, Stevenson returned four punts for 37 yards for an average of 9.3 yards per return. He returned a total of 12 punts over the course of his college career for 133 yards (11.1 AVG).
Take a look at this punishing return in the tweet below.
Stevenson’s responsibilities in college were primarily in the secondary. But even with a significant workload, Miami still felt comfortable putting back for punt returns when the team needed a spark.
Perhaps Stevenson offers the Bears an opportunity to move on from Jones, who never found his footing as a wide receiver. It will be one of the most high-pressure battles in training camp, but Pettis likely the favorite in the clubhouse at this point in time.
