The Seattle Seahawks were fortunate to survive a disastrous special teams performance against the New York Jets in last Sunday’s Week 13 win. Veteran return man Laviska Shenault Jr. fumbled twice. Shenault Jr. recovered one of those cough-ups, and the Seahawks eliminated the other one by scoring a pick-six return touchdown on the Jets’ ensuing possession.
Fellow return man Dee Williams also lost a fumble and the Jets capitalized on that error by scoring a touchdown. There were other errors, such as a Jets 99-yard return touchdown. Days later, the Seahawks parted ways with both Williams and Shenault Jr., releasing both players in separate transactions.
Getting rid of both return men left the Seahawks without clear-cut replacement options on the active roster. General manager John Schneider responded to that challenge by claiming wide receiver Jaelon Darden off waivers from the Cleveland Browns.
The Seahawks have waived Dee Williams, their primary punt/kickoff returner, according to the NFL transaction wire. They picked up WR Jaelon Darden. pic.twitter.com/5kgTwT51S3
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) December 5, 2024
Darden first entered the league as a fourth-round selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in the 2021 NFL Draft. Darden returned punts all four seasons while at North Texas, and also had some experience returning kickoffs. Since joining the pro ranks, he’s continued to be a sure-handed returner.
Darden has returned 78 career punts for 760 yards, averaging a stellar 9.7 yards per return. As a kickoff returner, he’s totaled 27 returns for 565 yards. Most notably for the Seahawks, Darden has never muffed a single punt or kickoff despite a sizable 115 career chances.
Darden has never scored a return touchdown, and his per-return numbers are fairly average, but reliability is often a returner’s best ability. Shenault Jr. and Williams were literally costing the Seahawks possessions and points. Darden should come in and quickly improve the Seahawks’ special teams return outputs.
