Grant Stuard is not your typical NFL kick returner. As a hard-hitting, 225-pound linebacker, Stuard is much bigger and less averse to initiating contact than the standard return specialist, often a speedy or shifty wide receiver like Detroit's Kalif Raymond.
Yet Stuard continues to rep with Raymond as the Lions' primary kick returners. That's despite fumbling away the opening kickoff of the Hall of Fame game, when he unintentionally rammed full-speed into the back of a teammate blocking for him. Since then, Stuard has developed into a real threat with his all-gas, no-brakes running style and surprising speed for a linebacker.
He did dabble in college, at Houston, as a running back, so it's not completely unfamiliar for Stuard. Since entering the NFL in 2021 as Mr. Irrelevant with the Indianapolis Colts, Stuard has also quickly emerged as one of the league's best kick and punt coverage players. Stuard blends those backgrounds to help mold his kick return style.
"I think that, just understanding -- I think it's the longer I play football, the more I understand the threat of a dynamic guy with the ball in his hands," a pensive Stuard opined. "And me knowing, as a cover guy and a defensive guy, I'd kind of rather play the guys who want to get sideways."
Stuard further explained why,
"One, because I'm fast. But two, it's just kind of like if you have a guy that's as fast as Jah (Jahmyr Gibbs) and he's slicing through your defense, now he's at the second level immediately. So I kind of have that same mentality with the ball in my hand, as far as like, if I can slice through, slice through, eventually I'm going to get through. Get one-on-one with the safety with all my momentum, should be something good for the Detroit Lions."
As a reserve linebacker, Stuard has proven a natural fit in Detroit with his downhill, always-attacking style. He's a strong open-field tackler who is perfectly willing to blow up a lead blocker, or ruin quick screens and slants--ask Miami from joint practices last week.
Stuard's potential as a kick returner got more than lip service from Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp. After noting the ill-fated fumble, Fipp was enthusiastic about Stuard's upside returning kicks.
"He showed a bunch of great things and then it said to us, 'OK, now we got to invest more time in him, to be fair to him and help him with ball security, and stuff like that, ' Fipp told reporters on Tuesday. "But it's now worth the investment because of what he's shown. So, we're excited about him."
Expect to see more of No. 15 and his thick mop of hair barely contained by a helmet returning kickoffs against the Houston Texans in the preseason finale on Sunday. And don't be surprised if Stuard fields the opening kickoff in Green Bay in Week 1, too.