TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals return man Greg Dortch came into offseason programs expecting a larger workload in the return game given yet another tweak to NFL kickoffs.
DeeJay Dallas, who was Arizona’s primary kick returner last year, getting shown the door during initial 53-man roster cuts made that thinking even more evident.
So did Dortch’s place as the first-string punt and kick returner on the unofficial Week 1 depth chart released Tuesday.
As for the kick returner opposite Dortch, Arizona has plenty options.
Cardinals assistant head coach/ST coordinator Jeff Rodgers on the team moving on from return man DeeJay Dallas and who could carve out a bigger role in his absence: pic.twitter.com/epYFRpC2cm
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) September 2, 2025
“Decision makers make decisions and however that shakes out, we’ve all got to react,” assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers said Tuesday. “You’re always planning for contingencies regardless of how you feel the roster might shake out.
“We have some other guys who are candidates to do that. Depends on who gets a jersey on gameday and we’ll kind of work through stuff as the week goes. Schematically, it doesn’t necessarily change a lot. Depending on who’s back there, we try to feature the skillset of the players. Whoever that ends up being, I feel decent about at least in Week 1 getting to what we need to get to.”
Heading into the brunt of Week 1 prep, Xavier Weaver stands out as one of the most likely candidates to see added reps in the return game.
On top of being a shifty threat with the ball in his hands, Weaver showed off his ball security in the return game throughout the preseason.
He’s got some return experience from his college days, too, taking back 21 punt returns for 284 yards from 2021-23.
If Dortch is going to command most of the kick returns, Weaver could come in and spell the fellow wideout on punts when needed.
Don’t forget about Emari Demercado
Another likely candidate is Emari Demercado.
The running back flashed his return abilities in Game 2 of the preseason. He posted one kick return for 29 yards and another for 31.
Demercado not only has the ability to take one to the house, he also presents a premium blocking option when the ball is not in his hands.
Remember the first dynamic kickoff return touchdown last season? Demercado was out in front.
DEEJAY DALLAS OH MYYYYYY 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/sLx2L16aLV
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 8, 2024
Demercado has already carved out a role offensively in pass protection, has seen 52 special teams snaps in each of his past two seasons and returned three kicks for 64 yards last season.
Expanding his role to include some more touches isn’t out of the question.
What about Bam?
Zonovan “Bam” Knight snatched the final roster spot in the running backs room away from Dallas thanks in part to a strong preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders.
It wasn’t just his 67-yard touchdown run that stood out about Knight’s night, though, with the running back also returning a kick for 27 yards.
Compared to Weaver and Demercado, there’s a better chance Knight is not among the 48 active players on game day. But given his explosive tendencies, the running back presents another option for kick returns.
And he’s got some college tape to back things up.
🚨 100-YD KICKOFF RETURN 🚨
BAM KNIGHT 💥 @PackFootball pic.twitter.com/gabowfBsoK
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) November 14, 2021
Across his final two seasons at North Carolina State, Knight returned 30 kicks for 923 yards and three touchdowns.
He led the ACC in return TDs in each of those two years and paced the FBS in the average yards per return with 34.4 in 2021.
Not a bad resume, if you ask me.