Returner Recap and Latest News

Photo: Joe Nicholson, USA Today Sports

Week 8 Recap

Top Performers

Cordarrelle Patterson had a 109-yard kickoff return touchdown for Minnesota, and also added a 51-yard return on his way to amassing 228 kickoff return yards. Brandon Tate and Josh Cribbs vied for second place behind Patterson, with 133 and 132 kickoff return yards respectively. Tate also added 19 punt return yards for the Bengals, edging out Cribbs who picked up 10 for the Jets.

Micah Hyde added to the returner scoring in the Minnesota-Green Bay game with a 93 yard punt return touchdown for Green Bay. Antonio Brown of the Steelers was second best in punt returns in Week 8, accumulating 47 yards on 4 returns.

All Week 8 Returners

Here are the top returners sorted by total yards for Week 8:

Top THIRTY to Date

Here are the top thirty returners for the year based on total return yards. 

Job Changes

Jacoby Ford was pulled from kick return duty for the Raiders, with Taiwan Jones taking over in his place. Ford handled punts during the game and likely raised more questions with his performance. In addition to a fumble on offense, Ford had a fumble during a punt return and nearly had another but for an opponent touching the ball just before it bounced into him. Though he continued to handle punts the rest of the game, the team could reassess the situation before their next game.

Injuries to the offensive line of the Lions resulted in Michael Spurlock being left inactive in Week 8. According to Coach Jim Schwartz it was not a benching so much as he felt that, "We could win the game by fair catching the punts. We couldn't win the game if we ran out of offensive tackles."  Wide receiver Jeremy Ross who was recently signed after his release from the Packers, handled kick returns. Ryan Broyles handled punt returns until he was lost to injury, after which Ross took over both return jobs. Schwartz would not discuss whether Spurlock will be active in their next game.

Though Falcons coach Mike Smith had expressed confidence in Robert Alford after a Week 7 punt return fumble, when it came game time the team turned to cornerback Robert McClain. McClain had 2 returns for 27 yards, so likely gained himself another week with the returner job.

INJURIES OF NOTE

The Cleveland Browns lost Travis Benjamin for the season with a torn ACL. Benjamin had performed well for the Browns, who will turn to Fozzy Whittaker for kick returns and Davone Bess for punt returns. Bess had a shaky game, fumbling a punt return and also having a few drops as a receiver.

Percy Harvin was close to returning to action for Seattle in Week 8, but his hip flared up and kept him out of the game. The team may ease Harvin back in gradually, so may not impact the return game until later in the season.

Week 9 Team Return Projections

Week 9 Player Return Projections