Carolina Panthers have 2 rookies, 2 vets in the mix for kickoff return duties

So many things went wrong for the Carolina Panthers last season that some things got lost in the shuffle. While their offense sputtered up until mid-November when Bryce Young returned to the lineup and their defense was putting in the worst season in NFL history, their special teams unit was also not doing anything special.

Things were bad enough in this phase of the game for the front office to scrap the whole thing and start over from scratch for the 2025 season. They've since found a new kicker and a new punter, and they're also on the lookout for new kickoff returners.

According to The Athletic's Joe Person, four players are in the mix to take over in this department: rookies Jimmy Horn Jr. and Trevor Etienne and veterans Raheem Blackshear and Rico Dowdle.

Panthers kick returner options

The following #Panthers were on kick return duty, according to @josephperson:

Raheem Blackshear
Trevor Etienne
Rico Dowdle
Jimmy Horn Jr.#KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/gcL4bmTbUS
— ً. (@ThomasWrrld) July 24, 2025

Blackshear has the most experience in this group and led the charge last season, but he didn't do anything worth writing home about. Carolina finished 29th in the league in average kick return yards and 30th in average punt return yards.

Of this group, rookie wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. looks to be their best option on paper. He has extensive experience as a kick returner from his time at Colorado and South Florida, having totaled 716 yards and a touchdown on 33 attempts. He also put in time as a punt returner. Etienne also has experience as a kick returner in college, averaging 24.8 yards per attempt.

The wild card in the bunch is former Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle, who has only returned 10 kickoffs in his pro career, but he's averaged a solid 23.8 yards per attempt.

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