Who returns punts with Deonte Harris injured?

The New Orleans Saints will be without their breakout star punt returner against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers so who fills in for Deonte Harris?

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Breakout rookie punt returner Deonte Harris was an unexpected absentee on the New Orleans Saints injury report, with the team ruling him out for their Sunday game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Harris’s loss is huge; he’s been the best to do it for New Orleans since Sean Payton was hired as head coach, and the rookie is the only player in the NFL with 200-plus yards on both punts and kickoffs.

Unfortunately, a late-game hamstring injury versus the Atlanta Falcons has put his availability in doubt, though the team already put him on the shelf this week. Hopefully this won’t become a lingering issue that derails his promising NFL debut.

In the meantime, who will the Saints roll out to fill in for him against the Buccaneers?

The easy answer on punts is Ted Ginn Jr., who has the most NFL experience doing that of anyone else left on the roster. But Saints coach Sean Payton has been critical of Ginn’s shaky hands in the past and may prefer to give younger teammates a shot first.

One of those candidates could be Krishawn Hogan, who was the only other player warming up as a punt returner next to Harris before last week’s Falcons game. Hogan has only played a handful of snaps so far, mostly blocking on run plays, but he might be someone Payton considers for the job.

Two other names to monitor are players more familiar with Saints fans: quarterback Taysom Hill and running back Alvin Kamara. They have both returned punts and kickoffs in the past, with Kamara notching a 106-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Tampa Bay back in his 2017 rookie season. He’s since eased off of return duties due to his value on offense, but it’s possible the Saints get desperate for a spark and trot him out.

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