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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JANUARY 04: Dante Pettis #11 of the New Orleans Saints runs with the ball during the second quarter of the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 04, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Buffalo Bills are searching for a solid punt returner this season. Last year, they had a revolving door at the position, and they eventually used their best wide receiver in the role. While he might have been good at it, that’s not typically something a team wants to do in subjecting their top offensive players to even more punishment on special teams.
In today’s installment of “91 players in 91 days,” we discuss a player with plenty of experience returning punts in his career.
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Name: Dante Pettis
Number: 87
Position: WR
Height/Weight: 6’1” 195 lbs.
Age: 30 (31 on 10/23/2026)
Experience/Draft: 8; selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round (No. 44 overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft
College: Washington
Acquired: Signed with Buffalo on 7/30/2026
Financial situation (per OvertheCap): Pettis signed a one-year contract with the Bills. That deal is worth $1.3 million overall, but thanks to the veteran’s salary benefit, his cap hit is just $1.075 million if he makes the roster. Buffalo will not carry a dead cap charge if they release him prior to Week One; however, as a vested veteran, his entire base salary is fully guaranteed if he’s on the roster for the first game of the season.
2025 Recap: Pettis spent the 2025 season with the New Orleans Saints. He appeared in all three of New Orleans’ exhibition games, and saw sixteen targets in those contests. He caught seven passes for 87 yards and a touchdown in the preseason. He also did some work as a returner, taking one kickoff return for 20 yards and three punt returns for an average of 5.7 yards per return. Pettis did not make New Orleans’ roster, though he was signed to the team’s practice squad on October 2. He was called up three times in November before signing to the active roster on December 2. Ultimately, he appeared in eight games for the Saints, working primarily on special teams returning both kickoffs and punts. He averaged 23.4 yards per kickoff return on 15 attempts and 6.1 yards per punt return on 13 tries. While he didn’t see much time on offense through his first six games, he played a total of 89 snaps on offense in the final two games of the season. Overall, he caught 9 passes for 127 yards on 11 targets; in those final two regular season games, he made 8 catches for 113 yards on 9 targets.
Positional outlook: Pettis is one of 14 receivers on the current roster. Tyrell Shavers, Khalil Shakir, DJ Moore, Max Tomczak, Mac Dalena, Keon Coleman, Skyler Bell, Joshua Palmer, Ja’Mori Maclin, Stephen Gosnell, Mecole Hardman Jr., Trent Sherfield, and Quentin Skinner are the others.
2026 Offseason: Pettis has taken some reps as a punt returner since signing with Buffalo. He’s been healthy through his few days of practice at camp thus far.
2026 Season outlook: Pettis has had his professional career derailed by injury, as he’s been placed on injured reserve four separate times in his eight pro seasons. He hasn’t come close to living up to his second-round draft pick status, nor has he shown much of the ability that allowed him to set an NCAA record with nine career punt return touchdowns during his time at Washington. It would be easy to look at a signing like this and say that he’s merely an experienced camp body who has zero shot at making the team in September.
And yet, the Bills had Khalil Shakir returning punts at points last season. That’s not an ideal situation, and it’s something that Bills clearly want to avoid this year. If Pettis has an explosive preseason, he could just as easily slot in as WR6 as someone like Hardman Jr., whose best shot at making the team is also as a punt returner. Keon Coleman has seen some time returning punts so far at camp, as well, so that could be a way for a second-round disappointment of Buffalo’s own drafting to make good on his draft status.
Pettis has a chance at the 53-man roster, but it’s just as likely that he’s auditioning for a role on the practice squad as a veteran option just in case someone else is injured. Given his lack of production throughout his career—he’s caught just 92 passes for 1,231 yards and 13 touchdowns in seven seasons and hasn’t returned a punt for a touchdown professionally—I can’t see a scenario where he makes the club. However, weirder things have happened. I think it’s likely going to be a short engagement in a Buffalo uniform for Pettis, but a strong preseason as a punt returner could give him a chance to break camp with the team.
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