# Kalif Raymond

Kalif Raymond (born August 8, 1994) is an American professional football wide receiver and return specialist for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Holy Cross Crusaders. Raymond joined the Lions in 2021 and was a second-team All-Pro punt returner in 2022 and 2024. He was also the NFL punt return yards leader in 2024, despite missing five games. Raymond previously played in the NFL for the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, New York Giants and Denver Broncos.

## Early Life

Raymond was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia, U.S. to an African-American father and a Chinese mother. He played college football for the Holy Cross Crusaders from 2012 to 2015

## Professional career
### Denver Broncos

On May 3, 2016, the Denver Broncos signed Raymond as an undrafted free agent. He was released on September 3, 2016, during the final roster cuts and was later signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to active roster on December 2, 2016.
On September 2, 2017, Raymond was waived by the Broncos.

### New York Jets

Raymond was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets on September 3, 2017.
In the season opener against the Buffalo Bills, Raymond was the kickoff and punt returner in his Jets debut.
Raymond was waived on September 19, 2017, and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was released by the team on September 26, 2017.

### New York Giants (first stint)

On October 11, 2017, Raymond was signed to the New York Giants' practice squad. He was released on October 31, but re-signed the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 14.
On September 1, 2018, Raymond was waived by the Giants.

### Tennessee Titans (first stint)

On September 25, 2018, Raymond was signed to the Tennessee Titans' practice squad. He was released on October 2.

### New York Giants (second stint)

On October 16, 2018, Raymond was signed to the Giants practice squad, but was released two days later.

### Tennessee Titans (second stint)

On December 24, 2018, Raymond was signed to the Titans practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Titans on December 31, 2018.
On September 7, 2019, Raymond was waived by the Titans and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 26, 2019. During Week 10 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Raymond caught a 52-yard reception from Ryan Tannehill and returned three kicks for 46 yards in a 35–32 victory. On December 1, 2019, he scored his first NFL touchdown on a 40-yard pass from Tannehill in a 31–17 road victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Raymond gave the football to his mother who was in attendance at the Week 13 game. On the 2019 season, Raymond totaled nine receptions for 170 receiving yards and one touchdown in eight games. In the divisional round of the playoffs against the Baltimore Ravens, he caught a 45-yard touchdown during the 28–12 road victory.
In Week 3 of the 2020 season, Raymond had three receptions for 118 yards in the 31–30 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Titans on December 19, 2020, and activated on December 25.

### Detroit Lions

On March 25, 2021, Raymond signed with the Detroit Lions. On October 3, 2021, he scored two touchdowns in a 24–14 loss to the Chicago Bears.
On March 18, 2022, Raymond signed a two-year, $9.5 million contract extension with the Lions. On December 18, 2022, he ran 47 yards for his first career punt-return touchdown in a 20–17 win against his former team, the Jets. He was named Second-team All-Pro for the 2022 season.
On August 11, 2023, Raymond signed a two-year contract extension with the Lions.
In Week 8 of the 2024 season, Raymond had a 90-yard punt return touchdown along with a seven-yard touchdown catch in a 52–14 win over the Titans, his former team, earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. He finished the season with 30 punt returns for 413 yards, leading the league in punt return yards despite missing five games due to injury. As a receiver, he also made 17 catches for 215 yards and two receiving touchdowns. Raymond was named Second-team All-Pro as a punt returner.

## NFL statistics

Regular season statistics :
| Year | Team | Games | Games | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Kick Returning | Kick Returning | Kick Returning | Kick Returning | Kick Returning | Punt Returning | Punt Returning | Punt Returning | Punt Returning | Punt Returning | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost |
| 2016 | DEN | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 137 | 22.8 | 40 | 0 | 11 | 111 | 11.0 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2017 | NYJ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 85 | 28.3 | 40 | 0 | 5 | 38 | 7.6 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 2017 | NYG | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | 1 | −1 | −1.0 | −1 | 0 | 11 | 186 | 16.9 | 24 | 0 | 13 | 61 | 4.7 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | TEN | 8 | 1 | 9 | 170 | 18.9 | 52 | 1 | 1 | −5 | −5.0 | −5 | 0 | 18 | 403 | 22.4 | 45 | 0 | 4 | 45 | 11.3 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2020 | TEN | 15 | 3 | 9 | 187 | 20.8 | 61 | 0 | 1 | −3 | −3.0 | −3 | 0 | 15 | 275 | 18.3 | 30 | 0 | 23 | 208 | 9.0 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | DET | 16 | 14 | 48 | 576 | 12.0 | 75T | 4 | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 236 | 11.2 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | DET | 17 | 7 | 47 | 616 | 13.1 | 56 | 0 | 7 | 36 | 5.1 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 65 | 32.5 | 52 | 0 | 20 | 264 | 13.2 | 47 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2023 | DET | 17 | 3 | 35 | 489 | 14.0 | 41 | 1 | 7 | 75 | 10.7 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 331 | 10.5 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | DET | 12 | 2 | 17 | 215 | 12.6 | 38 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 26.0 | 26 | 0 | 30 | 413 | 13.8 | 90 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 97 | 30 | 166 | 2,265 | 13.6 | 75T | 8 | 23 | 130 | 5.7 | 40 | 0 | 56 | 1,177 | 21.0 | 52 | 0 | 156 | 1,707 | 10.9 | 90 | 2 | 11 | 4 |
Postseason statistics :
| Year | Team | Games | Games | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Returning | Returning | Returning | Returning | Returning | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost |
| 2019 | TEN | 2 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 45.0 | 45T | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 77 | 15.4 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | TEN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | DET | 0 | 0 | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury |
| 2024 | DET | 1 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 4 | 0 | 4 | 82 | 20.5 | 45T | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 106 | 13.3 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |