Top Returner from 2022 Back with Bears

Dante Pettis on Monday signed a one-year deal to return to the Chicago Bears after leading the team in punt returns and making 19 receptions in 2022.

The Bears now have at least one legitimate punt returner on the roster.

Wide receiver Dante Pettis has signed a one-year contract to return to the Bears, the team announced on Monday.

Pettis, 27, was a second-round pick by San Francisco in 2018. He played receiver for the Bears in a backup role most of last year with seven starts and 17 total games. 

Pettis became the No. 1 punt returner after rookie Velus Jones Jr. failed at it by losing two muffed punts at crucial points late in losses to the New York Giants and Washington Commanders.

For the season, Pettis caught 19 passes in 41 targets (46.3% reception rate) and 245 yards. He had three touchdown catches. His 19 receptions were the third most among wide receivers on the team behind Darnell Mooney (40) and Equanimeous St. Brown (21).

As a return man, Pettis was above the league average of 8.9 yards with a 9.1-yard average per return on 18 attempts. His long return was 27 yards. 

Pettis, whose father is former Major League Baseball player and current Houston third-base coach Gary Pettis, joins a receiver corps that already includes Jones, DJ Moore, Mooney, St. Brown, Chase Claypool, Nsimba Webster, Daurice Fountain and Joe Reed.

In recent years they've taken 12 or 13 receivers to training camps.

Had they not signed Pettis back, they may have needed to look for another punt returner in free agency or the draft.  Webster and Eddie Jackson have done this in the past in Chicago and that was on a very limited basis. Moore has 12 career punt returns but it's unlikely they'd want to risk the player with their highest pay for the season as a return man. Moore averaged 6.8 yards for those 12 career punt returns. 

Defensive lineman Andrew Brown, who was an exclusive rights free agent, signed his tender and is officially on the salary cap for this year, as well. Exclusive rights free agent Josh Blackwell had already signed his. 

Exclusive rights free agents are automatically retained by a team with the ERFA tender offer. Once they receive the offer at the start of free agency, they're not allowed to negotatiate with another team.

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