Kalif Raymond has quietly been one of the most steady and dependable Detroit Lions. Here since the very beginning of the Dan Campbell era, Raymond isn’t a star and you won’t see a lot of #11s in the crowd. But just about every time he’s been called upon, he’s risen to the occasion.
But 2025 wasn’t his best season, and with him now facing free agency, it appears many fans are ready to move on. I’m here to say: not so fast, my friend.
Previous Lions free agent profiles: QB Kyle Allen, TE Shane Zylstra, DT DJ Reader, LB Alex Anzalone, LB Malcolm Rodriguez, DB Avonte Maddox, CB Rock Ya-Sin,
Kalif Raymond
Expectations heading into 2025
It was an odd offseason for Raymond. First, he agreed to take a small paycut while upping his guaranteed money. Then, the Lions re-signed Tim Patrick, only to trade him away at the end of training camp. Somewhere in the middle, Detroit made an aggressive play to draft receiver Isaac TeSlaa in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Coming off a second-team All Pro season, Raymond was certainly expected to continue his run as one of the league’s best punt returners, but with the moving parts at receiver, it wasn’t clear what his offensive role would be. His receiving production had been on the decline for three years, but with TeSlaa’s rawness, it looked like Raymond may have a bigger role than expected in 2026.
Actual role in 2025
Note: PFF grades reflect a minimum 20% snaps at that position.
Season stats
15 games (3 starts): 24 catches for 289 yards, 1 TD; 2 rushes, 19 yards
32 punt returns, 241 yards (7.5 Y/R), 1 TD; 6 kick returns, 161 yards (26.8)
- 358 offensive snaps
- 84 special team snaps
PFF offensive grade: 70.0 (40th out of 128 qualifying WRs)
PFF receiving grade: 68.5 (56th out of 125)
PFF run blocking grade: 65.3
PFF returner grade: 71.7 (26th out of 66)
Raymond, indeed, had to play significantly early in the season, playing 28.0 offensive snaps per game prior to Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, TeSlaa took over, and Raymond played just 12.5 snaps per game in the final four weeks.
As a receiver, Raymond didn’t see a ton of targets despite playing the most offensive snaps since 2022. Jared Goff passed to him just 30 times, which was his second lowest total as a Lion, surpassing only last year, when he played just 211 offensive snaps (compared to 358 this year).
Raymond’s production in punt returns also saw a pretty sharp decline. Here’s his average by year:
2021: 11.2
2022: 13.2
2023: 11.4
2024: 13.8
2025: 7.5
And that’s including his 65-yard punt return. Remove that, and his other 31 returns averaged just 5.7 yards per return. But those explosive plays are also part of the appeal of Raymond’s electric speed. He has a punt return touchdown in three of his past four years and at least one 40-yard punt return in each of his past six seasons, dating back to his final year with the Tennessee Titans.
Still, Raymond made some odd choices last year, often fielding punts inside the team’s own 10-yard line, and a few times he risked fumbling by not calling for a fair catch when he likely should have. Still, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp constantly defended Raymond and his actions throughout the year.
“I would prefer to put the ball in our hands and be aggressive than let’s see which way the ball bounces and maybe today it’ll bounce our way and tomorrow it won’t,” Fipp said regarding Raymond fielding punts inside the 10-yard line.
Also worth noting: late in the season, Raymond broke the franchise record for all-time punt return yards, surpassing Mel Gray (1,427) with 1,485 career yards.
Outlook for 2026
Contract status: Unrestricted free agent
Pros of re-signing
2025 was far from Raymond’s most productive year, but he still remains an explosive threat every time he touches the football, especially in the punt return game. In the past four seasons, there have been 32 total punt return touchdowns across the NFL. Kalif Raymond has three of them, tied with Parker Washington, Marcus Jones, and Rashid Shaheed for the most. That shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Additionally, the Lions currently have zero veteran depth in their wide receiver room. If Amon-Ra St. Brown or Jameson Williams get injured, they only have Isaac TeSlaa, Dominic Lovett, Jackson Meeks, and Malik Cunningham to rely on. Raymond has experience backing up all of the receiver positions, and has proven to be a productive player when called upon on offense.
And that speed? Well, Raymond believes he still has it.
“I can probably go run a 4.3 right now,” Raymond told Detroit Football Network in late 2025. “I can still run pretty dang fast. I can still cut pretty well.”
Cons of re-signing
Raymond just had one of his least productive seasons both on offense and special teams, and he’ll be 32 years old before the season starts. At some point, the Lions need to consider making a youth movement, and 2026 could be the year of TeSlaa and Lovett.
Is there interest from both sides?
Raymond certainly has interest in coming back. His career was on life support when he arrived in Detroit, and he’s become a key player over the past five years—including two All Pro seasons.
“These guys brought me a long way, so I’m going to have trust and faith in that,” Raymond told Detroit Football Network. “But to have been here, watching everybody grow, watching how the team, the people, the early draft picks grew. To be a part of this, to be a part of an organization with this kind of people, has been a blessing for my career.”
It’s harder to say from the Lions’ point of view. Obviously, TeSlaa is in line to take the majority of the WR3 snaps in 2026, but, again, there’s a pretty significant lack of proven depth. Some believe Lovett, the Lions’ seventh-round pick last year, is in line to take Raymond’s role both on offense and special teams, but that all remains hypothetical at this point. Lovett basically has no experience at returner in both college and the pros, despite having some of the fast and shifty skills to thrive in that role. It’s unclear if he can crack the lineup for any significant offensive role, either.
Detroit is tight in cap space, so a guy like Raymond may be considered a luxury. However, they’d undoubtedly be better with him than without him.
Cost?
Raymond signed a two-year, $10.5 million contract a few years back, and it’s probably fair to say his next deal will be shorter and less expensive. Spotrac puts his value at $3.5 million, OverTheCap has him between $2.3-4 million, Detroit Football Network estimates a $2.5 million deal for him.
Conclusion
In all honesty, I think if the Lions can re-sign Raymond for a $2.5 million deal, they should do it. At the very least, he’ll bring dependability to the punt return game and a trusted player among the receiver depth. While I would like to see what a player like Lovett has, this team needs to ultimately protect themselves from injury with proven talent, and Raymond will be a threat for a return touchdown every game. To me, that’s worth a relatively cheap investment.