Eagles elevate punter and punt returner from practice squad

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Eagles elevate punter and punt returner from practice squad

The Eagles on Saturday afternoon elevated punter Arryn Siposs and punt returner Britain Covey from the practice squad.

Published September 9, 2023

 

FOXBORO, Mass. — The Eagles on Saturday afternoon elevated punter Arryn Siposs and punt returner Britain Covey from the practice squad for their Week 1 game in New England.

Even though the Eagles released both Siposs and Covey at final cuts, they added them to the practice squad and it was pretty clear they would both keep their roles at least to start the season.

"Punter and punt returner?” Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay said this week. "I think we all kind of know who that is at this point. Only a few people on the roster that can punt and punt return. We obviously know that’s our situation.”

The Eagles can elevate a player just three times from the practice squad per season. There's two elevations left for each of them.

Siposs, 30, has been the Eagles’ punter for the last two seasons and while he got better in 2022, still struggled at times. And his awful punt in Super Bowl LVII has been tough to get over.

2021: 55 punts, 43.9 average, 38.7 net average, 30.9% inside 20

2022: 44 punts, 45.6 average, 38.6 net average, 36.4% inside 20

During the offseason, the Eagles signed undrafted punter Ty Zentner to compete with Siposs but Siposs outlasted Zentner, who didn’t even make it to final cuts. Then the Eagles brought in a few veteran punters for workouts but still decided to stick with Siposs.

Why did the Eagles stick with Siposs?

"Competition is always great,” Clay said. “[Siposs] coming in day in, day out, trying to get better each day. We’re going to feel going into week one, putting him out there, comfortability, making him as comfortable as possible to get out there.

"We’re all trying to get the best foot forward to help this team out. Week 1, in New England, is going to be a challenge. We’re really looking forward to this.”

Covey, 26, returned 33 punts last season for an average of 9.3 yards per return. But he did have a 27-yarder to set up a 2nd-quarter field goal in Super Bowl LVII.

And Covey was much better after some early rookie struggles. After Week 4, Covey returned 22 punts for an average of 11.1 yards per return. That was the fourth-highest average in the NFL through the end of the season.

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/eagles-elevate-punter-and-punt-returner-from-practice-squad/535158/