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It didn’t take long for the Washington Commanders to have the whole Deebo Samuel experience. The sixth-year wide receiver caught seven passes for 77 yards and carried the ball one time for 19 yards and a touchdown in Washington’s Week 1 win over the New York Giants.
Samuel also served as the Commanders’ primary kickoff returner. Samuel averaged 25 yards in his two returns on Sunday.
Considering Samuel’s style of play, injury history, and the need to preserve him, should he be returning kicks? When Washington coach Dan Quinn met with the media on Monday, he was asked if he’s worried Samuel will get hurt, considering some of the collisions on kick returns.
“I try not, I wouldn’t put him in if I felt like that would be the case because I do know it’s some game-breaking plays, but if we can be the best at that, then I think that’s a really big opt to do it,” Quinn said. “It’s definitely different than it was just two years ago. They’re closer, it’s different. It’s a more effective way, I think, with the kick and the kick returns. We’re still learning it and growing, but I do feel like he’s the type of person that can be a game breaker at it.”
Quinn is correct. When the NFL changed the kickoff rules before the 2024 season, it was done with player safety in mind. The new kickoff features fewer high-speed collisions because the kicking team can’t build up speed as quickly as before. Therefore, we saw several teams put more high-profile players in at kick returner last season. The Commanders did it with veteran running back Austin Ekeler. While Ekeler was successful in the role, he also suffered a concussion returning a kickoff.
Quinn isn’t the first coach to have Samuel return kicks. The 49ers had Samuel returning kicks last season after the rules were changed. Samuel’s run-after-catch ability makes him an ideal candidate to return kicks. With San Francisco last season, Samuel returned 17 kickoffs for 533 yards.
Samuel has only played a full season once. However, he has only missed two games in each of the past two seasons. Samuel is often beaten up because of his style of play, which makes the argument of not using him on kick returns a valid one.
Former Washington head coach Jay Gruden probably wouldn’t use Samuel on kickoff returns.
“Yeah, that’s a tough one for me,” Gruden told “Grant & Danny” of 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C., on Monday. “I don’t know if I’d put him back there; however, I don’t know what the alternative is. I don’t know if the new rookie running back can do it, I don’t know who else could do it……..I would err on the side of not putting him back there if I had somebody else that was almost as good. I would put him back there and let Deebo save his energy for offense.”
Before you get mad at Gruden, he understands the situation the Commanders are in. Who else can do it effectively? Quinn and Gruden make good points. There is risk and reward involved here. It took only one game for Samuel to make himself an indispensable option for quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Neither opinion is wrong, but so much will come down to Samuel’s health. Considering he also impacts the running game, the Commanders may eventually choose to err on the side of caution
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