Should Teams Still Return Punts?

[Eleazar]

Originally Posted by JudasRising20

Meanwhile, there's a much higher likelihood of being penalized, fumbling, or injuries than there is a positive gain.

I don’t believe that is true. A punt return is normally 5 or 10 yards worth of positive yardage. It would be silly to pass that up drive after drive after drive except in situations where the kick or the coverage makes a fair catch the only option, or a touchback is a possibility.

Giving up that many yards over the course of a year because someone might commit a penalty or a turnover is kind of wacky. These are probably more common on plays from scrimmage.