According to a Twitter report by ESPN’s Adam Caplan, the Detroit Lions have signed former New York Jets Wide Receiver/Punt Returner Jeremy Kerley. Caplan’s report didn’t include dollar figures or years, but either way, the Lions have found their guy to return punts, removing that risk from now number one receiver Golden Tate.
Jeremy Kerley's deal with #Lions is for 1 year, just over $1m.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) March 21, 2016
Kerley is only 27-years old and is a former fifth round pick by the New York Jets in 2011 out of TCU. He’s played in all but six games in his six year career so health isn’t really a concern with this signing.
He likely is being brought on as a punt returner. As previously mentioned, Golden Tate handled those duties in 2o15 almost exclusively, fielding 34 of 52 punts for Detroit. Now that Tate is set to be the Detroit Lions number one receiving option, you’d like to not have him returning kicks as it presents a huge injury risk to your number one guy. Kerley has had decent success as a punt returner and a decent resume as a secondary option in the passing game.
2015 was a down year for Kerley as a receiver. He tallied only 16 receptions for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 26 targets in 2015. His career best came back in 2012 when he caught 56 balls for 827 yards and two touchdowns on 96 targets. He returned 48 punts for 411 yards (8.6 yard average) with a long of 58 yards in 2015 and didn’t record a touchdown. Those numbers mark a career best. He did record one punt return for a touchdown in 2012.
Either way, this is a no risk, only reward signing for the Detroit Lions. They now have a proven punt returner in the fold that can provide some depth at wide receiver. It is unlikely that the deal will be for more than one year and will likely contain little or no guaranteed money, so this deal can only be a positive.
UPDATE: 11:10 PM
Adam Caplan has learned the details of the Kerley signing.
Jeremy Kerley's deal with #Lions is for 1 year, just over $1m.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) March 21, 2016
