It's not clear how many defensive snaps Jalen Collins will play in his season debut but coach Dan Quinn said he would take on an important special-teams role.
With key special-teams player C.J. Goodwin out with an injury, Quinn said Collins will play as an outside "gunner" on the punt coverage team Sunday against the Chargers. The position requires sprinting down field as the ball is snapped and corralling the return man before he can find space to run.
Collins missed the first four games of this season while serving a league suspension for performance-enhancing substances and was inactive for the past two games.
“He certainly has the speed to do it,” Quinn said of Collins. “Robinson Therezie (also) is somebody we count on for that and (Justin Hardy). It’s an important position. (The Chargers) have got good returners and that’s the truth.
“We punt to our gunners. (Punter Chris) Bosh is going to have to lay it up because our guys are going to be hauling to go get them. (The Chargers) have real speed outside. The nice part for us is, we do too.”
Chargers Travis Benjamin and Dexter McCluster have combined to average 7.3 yards on 14 returns with a long of 18. Last season with the Browns Benjamin gained 20 yards or more on four of his 28 punt returns, including a 78-yard touchdown.
Goodwin has played 71 percent of the snaps on special teams over six games. He ranks second on the team with four special-teams tackles.
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