Overview
- Detroit special teams coordinator Dave Fipp confirmed Thursday that Kennedy will return punts against the New Orleans Saints at Ford Field.
- Kennedy remains on the practice squad and must be temporarily elevated or signed to the active roster before Sunday to be eligible to play.
- The Lions’ choice follows Kennedy’s limited but productive 2025 work, when he averaged 16.7 yards on three punt returns and 27.9 yards on 16 kickoff returns.
- Greg Dortch’s offseason exit and a training-camp competition with Dominic Lovett left a punt-return vacancy that pushed Kennedy to the top of the internal depth chart.
- A long-tenured undrafted player with Detroit since 2019, Kennedy provides receiver depth while chiefly serving as a special-teams asset and is not expected to see major offensive snaps.