Packers will promote KR Tremon Smith from practice squad, per report

The rotation on special teams is apparently continuing this week for the Green Bay Packers. The team has received virtually no production out of their kick or punt return units, accumulating a total of minus-9 yards on punt returns and averaging just 17 yards per kickoff return.

Now an old/new face is coming back to try to jump-start these moribund special teams. According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, the Packers are promoting return specialist Tremon Smith to the active roster from the practice squad.

Smith spent three games on the roster previously, returning three kickoffs for 68 yards, an average of 22.7 yards. He is the only player on the roster to sit above the team’s 17-yard average on kickoffs; Darrius Shepherd has averaged 16.3 yards on nine returns while Chandon Sullivan, who took over on Sunday night against the Chiefs, averaged 16 yards on three attempts.

With Smith up on the 53, the Packers will need to make a corresponding move to clear a space off the roster. Shepherd would be a logical choice, as he has been relegated to a special teams role almost exclusively in recent weeks. The one big challenge will be determining who would take punt returns, as Smith has not attempted a punt return in his pro career. He did serve as a punt returner in college for two years, however, so he could be a possibility there. Other options could include cornerbacks Jaire Alexander, Josh Jackson, or Tramon Williams, as well as wideout Allen Lazard, who returned 21 punts for 213 yards at Iowa State.

Stay tuned to find out about the corresponding roster move.