Bears name kickoff, punt returners for Week 1 vs. Titans

The Chicago Bears are gearing up for the start of the 2024 NFL season, where they'll host the Tennessee Titans Sunday at Soldier Field.

Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower named the primary kickoff and punt returners for Sunday's season opener. Third-year pro Velus Jones Jr. will serve as the kickoff returner with free-agent addition DeAndre Carter getting the nod at punt returner. Both were listed as interchangeable between both jobs on the first unofficial depth chart, but this lines up with what was hinted at all offseason.

Jones serves to benefit from the new kickoff rule, where kickers will need to place the ball within a “landing zone” from the 20-yard line to the end zone. Any kick that lands in that zone must be returned. The rules for touchbacks, which will come out to the 30-yard line: If a ball lands in the zone and rolls into the endzone, kicks that land in the end zone. If the ball lands short of the “landing zone,” it’ll be blown dead and the ball moved to the 40-yard line.

“You can only think about a guy like Velus Jones,” Hightower said back in May. “A guy like that with his type of skill set, with the speed and the power that he has, and he’s coming full speed ahead at you, it’s like a damn freight train running at you.”

Meanwhile, Carter comes to Chicago with a wealth of experience both returning punts and kickoffs, giving the team options should Jones struggle. His speed makes him a weapon returning kicks, which could help give the Bears good field position.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears name kickoff, punt returners for Week 1 vs. Titans