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In response to the season-ending MCL injury to Tom Kennedy, the Detroit Lions have moved swiftly to bolster their return game by reportedly signing veteran return specialist DeAndre Carter to their practice squad. The 33-year-old Carter, who has previously played for the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns, among others, brings a wealth of experience to the Lions' special teams unit.
Head coach Dan Campbell had indicated that the team would look outside the organization for a new returner following Kennedy's injury, which will sideline him for the entire 2026 NFL season. According to the transaction wire, the Lions worked out two wide receivers, including Carter and Steven Sims, before deciding on Carter.
Carter played his college football at Sacramento State from 2011 to 2014 and went undrafted in 2015 before signing with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent. Since then, he has bounced around the league, with stints at the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, and Cleveland Browns.
During the 2024 season with the Bears, Carter averaged an impressive 31.9 yards per kickoff return, including a long of 67 yards. He also returned 17 punts and averaged 9.3 yards per return. However, in late September 2025, he was placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury suffered against the Lions in Week 4.
Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp was recently asked about the team's goals for starting field position on returns. Fipp emphasized that the team has internal metrics and standards but chose not to disclose specific individual goals. "We have a lot of individual goals I'm not going to get into because you start saying those to people and then they start holding you accountable to all that," Fipp said. "We have our own metrics that we use. I certainly have mine. We have our own standards. We compare ourselves to our standard after every single game in all areas, not only on kickoff, kickoff return. And the drive start is a major one for that. Obviously, we look at all the penalty stuff. That's really important in the return game."
Fipp also shared his thoughts on punt statistics, expressing frustration with how they are publicized. "And then punt and punt and punt return, as you guys know, I mean, I do like stats," Fipp added. "I just don't like the way that they're publicized, like punt is terrible. The statistic for punt right now, I mean, I don't even know. They say gross punt's a good thing. Well, if you punt from the plus 40-yard line, your gross punt's not going to be very good. If you say net punt, same thing. If you punt out on your own 10-yard line a whole game, you're going to have a good net versus if you punt from the 50."
Fipp noted that the Lions have extensive data on return stats and compare themselves to league averages. "We break down the punt into a bunch of different areas of the field and compare ourselves to the league's numbers over the years," Fipp said. "And so, we do that after every single game, so we know exactly where we are in all areas. We have a high standard. It's not average. Our goal is to be well above that in all phases."
The addition of Carter provides the Lions with a proven return option as they navigate the loss of Kennedy. With his experience and production, Carter could compete for a role in the return game and potentially contribute on offense as well.