Tag: Bears punt returner

Bears sign former Bengals PR Trent Taylor

The Chicago Bears have a new punt returner.

The Chicago Bears have a new punt returner. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bears are signing former Cincinnati Bengals return specialist and wide receiver Trent Taylor to their active roster. The Bengals released Taylor on Tuesday after he spent the 2022 season as their primary punt returner.

Taylor was drafted in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers and was their primary punt returner his rookie year. He also contributed at wide receiver, catching 43 passes for 430 yards and two touchdowns.

As his career went on, Taylor became more of a dedicated specialist, primarily contributing on punt returns. He joined the Bengals in 2021 and, in 2022, was their primary punt returner. Taylor averaged 10.3 yards per return, the sixth-most in the NFL last year.

Now, Taylor comes to the Bears to give them a boost in that department. Chicago lost veteran Dante Pettis to injured reserve last week and didn’t have a stable punt returner. Now they do with Taylor, who will likely take the spot of someone like Velus Jones Jr. or Equanimeous St. Brown on the roster.

It sounds like the Bears will have a new punt returner vs. Saints

The Ted Ginn Jr. experiment is likely coming to an end, and that’ll start Sunday as the Bears host the Saints.

The Ted Ginn Jr. experiment is likely coming to an end, and that’ll start Sunday as the Chicago Bears host the New Orleans Saints.

The Bears activated wide receiver and kick return specialist Dwayne Harris from the practice squad to the active roster. Harris, who was signed to the practice squad just this week, will likely handle punt returns for the Bears against the Saints.

The signing of Harris certainly doesn’t come as a surprise following last Monday night’s game, where Ginn fielded zero punts on five opportunities. Ginn hasn’t looked comfortable fielding punts since taking over for an injured Tarik Cohen, and the Bears finally decided to make a move with Harris.

In nine seasons, Harris has played for the Dallas Cowboys (2011-14), New York Giants (2015-17) and Las Vegas Raiders (2018-19), garnered nine starts in 106 NFL games.

Harris has served primarily as a return specialist, where he’s averaged 10.1 yards on 180 punts, including four touchdowns, as well as 25.8 yards on 163 kickoff returns with one touchdown.