Prior to the 2024 season, former Miami Dolphins outstanding special team player Jakeem Grant will take part in the Philadelphia Eagles rookie minicamp.
Wide receiver and special team player Grant, 31, hasn’t had a stat in the NFL since 2021. The Miami Dolphins are Grant’s most well-known legacy, along with his explosive playmaking skills on special teams.
Prior to the 2023 season, Grant was a member of the Cleveland Browns, but he was sidelined by an injury sustained during a preseason game.
Fans knew that Jakeem Grant, a special teams player when he played for the Miami Dolphins, could always turn the ball into something.
Over his career, he has scored six touchdowns on returns. Twice he was selected to the second team of the All-Pro team, and once to the Pro Bowl.
Grant is only one yard away from reaching 2,700 career kick return yards and has over 1,200 career punt return yards. His career total of all-purpose yards is over 5,100. His lightning-fast speed made him a television star at five feet six.
The Philadelphia Eagles were far from the greatest when it came to kick return yards, even if they were tied for the most punt return yards in the NFL in 2023.
In 2023, they were only able to total 254 yards on kick returns. There were just five teams with less yards after kickoff returns.
Only in 2020, with just six kick returns for 129 yards, did Grant’s season total kick return stats go so low. Over the course of his career, Grant has at least 439 kick return yards in every other season. With 578 kick return yards in 2023, he would have been the league leader after his most productive season in 2019.
The NFL is going to introduce a new kickoff system this season that will reward the returning team for returning more kicks rather than allowing the ball to cross the end zone.
The landing zone is the area between the goal line and the 20-yard line. Any kick there needs to be recovered. The return team will line up at the 40-yard line or the 30-yard line, respectively, for any kick that is either too short or too far. This implies that the NFL will witness a renaissance of sorts for the kick return specialist.
The head coach of the Buffalo Bills commented on the new regulation in a Democrat and Chronicle article.
“I think our game is the most exciting one out there; it’s really exciting. McDermott commented, “We have to maintain it that way. There was a noticeable lack of excitement during kickoffs.” “You need returns to be back in the game in order to accomplish that. This year, the returns decreased dramatically and turned into dead plays. The action in those plays must be thrilling, at least for a substantial portion of the performance.
