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Ellington takes his shot at punt returns

Andre Ellington is now listed as the top kickoff and punt returner on the depth chart. The kickoff part isn't that surprising. The punt return part is, since a) Ellington has never really done it and b) it wasn't really a consideration when camp started. But Ellington, who finally got a chance to return one in a game in San Diego, is going to have the opportunity.

We'll see how comfortable Ellington can get back there. This possibility has been building since the day Chris Johnson re-signed. When the three top running backs were healthy last season, David Johnson was returning kickoffs and there was a reason to have all three active on game days. Now that David Johnson is going to be the main back, he won't be returning kickoffs -- so to have all three active, someone has to play special teams. That's not Chris Johnson. So you try and see what Ellington can do as the dual return man. (You don't really want Patrick Peterson returning punts anymore either.)

Watching him in practice, Ellington looks very much like a work in progress. But Bruce Arians is right -- if Ellington does get his hands on a punt, he's the kind of player that fits such a return perfectly, getting the ball in space on what essentially is an extended stretch running play, in which Ellington can use his burst to blow up the field.

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