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Top 2025 Seahawk Training Camp Storylines: Who Handles Kick & Punt Return Duties?

The Seahawks primary kick and punt returners from last season aren’t with the team in 2025, meaning competition for those two roles.

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The Seahawks primary kick and punt returners from last season aren't with the team in 2025, meaning competition for those two roles.

With Seahawks training camp kicking off later this month, Seahawks.com is counting down, in no particular order, 10 of the most intriguing storylines, position battles and players heading into the 2025 season. Today, we kick things off with a look at special teams, and the return game in particular. Check back tomorrow when we look at tight end, a position group that figures to play a bigger role in a new offensive scheme.

Key Special Teams Additions: WR/KR/PR Steven Sims (free-agent signing), CB Shemar Jean-Charles (free-agent signing), TE Eric Saubert (free-agent signing), S D'Anthony Bell (free-agent signing), several rookies, roles TBD.

Key Special Teams Departures: WR/KR/PR Jaelon Darden (free agent), CB Tre Brown (signed with 49ers), S K'Von Wallace (free agent).

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When it comes to special teams, the Seahawks have enjoyed both standout play and consistency from their specialists.

Punter Michael Dickson, a former first-team All-Pro and Pro-Bowler, is heading into his eighth season with the Seahawks, while kicker Jason Myers, a two-time Pro-Bowl selection, will be starting his seventh season in Seattle, and both are among the best in the league at their jobs. Long snapper Chris Stoll, meanwhile, has held that role for the past two seasons after winning the job as an undrafted rookie in 2023.

Where the Seahawks have not enjoyed that type of consistency, however, is in the return game, where several players have rotated through the kick and punt return jobs in recent years. And with last year's primary returners no longer with the team, there will again be competition for those jobs heading into the 2025 season.

The kick return job took on new significance last year with a drastic change to the kickoff, one that led to more returns and fewer touchbacks, and that should again be the case in 2025, especially after the rule was tweaked again to move the touchback from the 30 to the 35-yard line, a change made to discourage teams from kicking the ball through the end zone for a touchback rather than defend a return.

"I think it will be effective in terms of having that result," special teams coach Jay Harbaugh said of moving the touchback to create more returns. "More times than not, it feels like it's never going to be quite as extreme as what your initial gut reaction would be, 'Hey, it's going to be this percentage.' It's usually not quite that. But I do think, if that is the desired goal, then it'll be effective when we look back at it."

So with more kick returns expected, and with punt returns always being a crucial part of the game when it comes to field position and ball security, who will handle those roles in 2025? Last season, the Seahawks signed Laviska Shenault Jr. hoping he would be their top kick returner, then undrafted rookie Dee Williams made the roster as a punt and kick returner, but while both flashed potential, including a kick return touchdown for Shenault, both also struggled with ball security, leading to both eventually being released during the season. Following those moves, the Seahawks brought in an experienced returner in Jaelon Darden, but he was not re-signed this offseason, leaving an opening there. Running back Kenny McIntosh also handled some kick returns late in the season and could again be an option for one of the kick return jobs in 2025.

As things stand heading into camp, the leading candidate both for punt return duties and one of the two kick return spots is veteran receiver and return man Steven Sims, a free-agent signing who is heading into his seventh season in the league.

Sims, who has spent time with Washington, Pittsburgh, Houston and Baltimore, has extensive experience in both return jobs, returning 74 punts for 462 yards and 62 kickoffs for 1,561 yards in 53 career regular-season games, including a 91-yard touchdown as a rookie. Sims also had a 67-yard punt return touchdown in a Divisional Round playoff game two seasons ago while playing for the Texans.

"Big fan of Steven," Harbaugh said. "He's quick, he's twitched up. He takes it really seriously. He loves that role and really embraces it, works his tail off. You guys see it from pre-practice to just throughout, his tremendous stamina and enthusiasm. That doesn't wane either, from the meetings to throughout the rest of practice. So, all of those things, plus he has a lot of God-given talent too. So, you combine those two things, it's pretty exciting, and we're thrilled to have him."

While Sims would appear to be the top candidate heading into camp, he'll have to earn his return role or roles, and as offseason workouts showed, the Seahawks will take a look at plenty of players in those roles.

"We're repping a bunch of guys right now, and we'll see," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said during last month's minicamp. "It's why we signed Sims in large part, but we got some competition there and the kick return battle too."

As for who could push Sims and/or join him on kick returns—the Seahawks, like most teams, used two kick returners in the new format last season—the options range from several returning players to a couple of rookies with college experience. The Seahawks have used running backs Kenny McIntosh and Zach Charbonnet as kick returners in the past, either in regular or preseason action, while Dareke Young, a special teams standout, returned kicks at times in college and has practiced in that role in the past. Rookie Tory Horton, meanwhile, comes to Seattle with significant punt return experience from his time at Colorado State, including punt return touchdowns in each of the past three seasons. Receiver Cody White, who has split time between the active roster and practice squad, returned punts in college, while receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba also has some punt return experience from his time at Ohio State, and has fielded punts in practice, but it's hard to see the Seahawks using their top receiver as a regular on returns, though it can't be ruled out entirely.

Whoever wins the return jobs, the Seahawks would love to find some production and consistency after multiple years with a lot of turnover in those important roles.

Check out photos of the Seahawks roster following offseason workouts.

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