FOXBOROUGH — Antonio Gibson delivered one of the early highlights of the year for the Patriots, ripping off a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown in Miami as Mike Vrabel sprinted along the sideline beside him.
But Gibson’s season has ended prematurely. The running back tore his ACL on a return in Buffalo and will be placed on injured reserve soon.
So who will replace Gibson on kickoffs? TreVeyon Henderson will remain in place on one side back deep, but there’s now a vacancy next to him.
“It was unfortunate to lose him. He was such a vital part of what we’d been doing and a great leader on the back end with a lot of experience,” special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer said. “So it’s the next man up. That’s the way the mentality is in football and all sports, next man up. We’re getting those guys ready to rock and roll.”
After Gibson went down, the Patriots put Rhamondre Stevenson back deep, that may have just been a product of game day depth. Between the two, the Patriots clearly preferred to have Henderson return kicks.
“I think everyone on our depth has to have a role in the return game, if you’re a receiver or a back,” Springer said. “You’re always looking at those guys. Running back, receiver, they’re all going to be back there. Week by week, you‘re just trying to find out who is your best two… You always like a bigger guy back there because they’re taking hits now — a lot of hits — because they’re covering every kick, but at the same time you can’t miss out on guys with dynamic ability to be able do what we want them to do.”
Beyond Stevenson, large-frame options include Terrell Jennings, presuming the practice squad member is added to the game day roster, wideout Kyle Williams and safety Kyle Dugger, who returned kicks in college.
Then Marcus Jones is an outstanding punt returner, but doesn’t fit the “bigger guy” build that Springer described at 5-foot-8.