The Los Angeles Rams have surprisingly named running back Kyren Williams as the team's punt return, head coach Sean McVay said Tuesday, per The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue.
The decision comes as a surprise because Williams is the team's primary back and has not returned many kicks in his career to this point. Normally, a team's starting running back or top wide receiver does not return punts or kickoffs to avoid the risk of an injury.
Preventing injury risk would seem especially important for Williams, who has missed time in each of his two NFL seasons due to injury. As a rookie, Williams even missed time to start his career after spraining his ankle on a kickoff return.
McVay stated that the Rams made this decision because they wanted 'another way' to give Williams touches and help the team. McVay added that they feel comfortable with using Williams on special teams in this fashion because of their confidence in backup running backs Blake Corum and Ronnie Rivers. The Rams have already shown confidence in Corum, their third-round pick in this year's draft, because they did not play him in the preseason.
Williams emerged as the Rams' No. 1 running back last season after he rushed for 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns on an average of 5.0 yards per carry. Williams managed to finish third in the NFL in rushing yards and seventh in rushing touchdowns a season ago despite only playing in 12 games for the Rams. He missed time in the middle of the 2023 season with a sprained ankle, that caused him to go on injured reserve.
The 24-year-old has returned just three punts and one kickoff during the 2023 season. He earned 21 yards off punt returns, and eight yards off his lone kickoff return.
The Rams are not expected to use Williams on kickoff returns though. Wide receiver Tutu Atwell, who returned both punts and kickoffs as a rookie, has expressed wanting to return kickoffs again this summer amid the new kickoff rules that want to make kick returns an exciting play again.
This is the second surprising decision the Rams have made Tuesday, after trading starting linebacker Ernest Jones to the Tennessee Titans earlier in the day.
