Returner Watch: Who Will Return Punts and Kicks for the Bengals Against the Broncos?

Who will replace Darius Phillips?

Author:
James Rapien
Publish date:
Dec 16, 2021 8:50 PM EST

CINCINNATI — The Bengals are going to have new punt and kick returners on Sunday against the Broncos with Darius Phillips on injured reserve.

The team has looked at different options this week.

Practice squad wide receivers Trent Taylor and Pooka Williams both saw significant reps at kickoff returner on Thursday. Chris Evans is also in the mix.

Tyler Boyd, Trenton Irwin and Taylor fielded punts in practice this week.

Boyd is an emergency option and won't be the primary punt returner.

Taylor is capable of doing both, but is it worth elevating him from the practice squad and making him active on gameday just to return kicks and punts?

Irwin has fielded punts in games this season and Williams has been active once, but struggled as a kick returner in Week 13 against the Chargers.

"We’ll work several of our guys out there," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said on Wednesday. "I think we have an idea where we may go with it, but we’re going to give it a couple of days."

With Evans practicing and expected to play on Sunday, there's no reason why he can't serve as the Bengals' kick returner.

If the Bengals plan on making Irwin active, then he will likely be their punt returner.

They could make him inactive, which would open up a spot for (Trent) Taylor to slide in at punt and kick returner.

"A lot of it will have to deal with the roster management and the flexibility of other positions," (Zac) Taylor said. "I won’t go into full detail of what all that entails, but it does sometime factor into the returner."

Prediction

The Bengals could go in a variety of different directions, but with Evans and Irwin already on the roster, they'll likely get the first crack at filling the void.

Going this route also allows the Bengals to promote a linebacker from the practice squad. Cincinnati could elevate Austin Calitro or Keandre Jones, even with Markus Bailey potentially returning this week.

We'll keep you up to date on the latest news in the returner battle. For more on the Bengals, watch our exclusive sit down with Greg Cosell of NFL Films below.

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