Kalif Raymond (born August 8, 1994) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Holy Cross Crusaders The Holy Cross Crusaders are the athletic teams representing the College of the Holy Cross. They compete in NCAA Division I, primarily as members of the Patriot League. In ice hockey, a sport not sponsored by the Patriot League for either sex, th ...

. Raymond joined the Lions in 2021 and was a second-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

punt returner in 2022 and 2024. He was also the NFL punt return yards leader in 2024, despite missing five games. Raymond previously played in the NFL for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

and

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

Early life

Raymond was born in

Lawrenceville, Georgia Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is a suburb of Atlanta, located approximately northeast of downtown. It was incorporated on December 15, 1821. As of the 2020 census, the populatio ...

, U.S. to an African-American father and a Chinese mother. He played

for the

from 2012 to 2015

Professional career

Denver Broncos

On May 3, 2016, the

signed Raymond as an undrafted free agent. He was released on September 3, 2016, during the final roster cuts and was later signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was promoted to active roster on December 2, 2016. On September 2, 2017, Raymond was waived by the Broncos.

New York Jets

Raymond was claimed off waivers by the

on September 3, 2017. In the season opener against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, Raymond was the kickoff and

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punt (gridiron football), punts and kickoff (gridiron football), kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusivel ...

in his Jets debut. Raymond was waived on September 19, 2017, and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was released by the team on September 26, 2017.

New York Giants (first stint)

On October 11, 2017, Raymond was signed to the

' practice squad. He was released on October 31, but re-signed the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 14. On September 1, 2018, Raymond was waived by the Giants.

Tennessee Titans (first stint)

On September 25, 2018, Raymond was signed to the

' practice squad. He was released on October 2.

New York Giants (second stint)

On October 16, 2018, Raymond was signed to the Giants practice squad, but was released two days later.

Tennessee Titans (second stint)

On December 24, 2018, Raymond was signed to the Titans practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Titans on December 31, 2018. On September 7, 2019, Raymond was waived by the Titans and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 26, 2019. During Week 10 against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, Raymond caught a 52-yard reception from

Ryan Tannehill Ryan Timothy Tannehill III (born July 27, 1988) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, playing wide receiver until his junior year, and was selected eighth overall by the Miami Dol ...

and returned three kicks for 46 yards in a 35–32 victory. On December 1, 2019, he scored his first NFL

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

on a 40-yard pass from Tannehill in a 31–17 road victory over the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. Raymond gave the football to his mother who was in attendance at the Week 13 game. On the 2019 season, Raymond totaled nine receptions for 170 receiving yards and one touchdown in eight games. In the divisional round of the playoffs against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

, he caught a 45-yard touchdown during the 28–12 road victory. In Week 3 of the 2020 season, Raymond had three receptions for 118 yards in the 31–30 victory over the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. He was placed on the reserve/

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list by the Titans on December 19, 2020, and activated on December 25.

Detroit Lions

On March 25, 2021, Raymond signed with the

. On October 3, 2021, he scored two touchdowns in a 24–14 loss to the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. On March 18, 2022, Raymond signed a two-year, $9.5 million contract extension with the Lions. On December 18, 2022, he ran 47 yards for his first career punt-return touchdown in a 20–17 win against his former team, the Jets. He was named Second-team

for the 2022 season. On August 11, 2023, Raymond signed a two-year contract extension with the Lions. In Week 8 of the 2024 season, Raymond had a 90-yard punt return touchdown along with a seven-yard touchdown catch in a 52–14 win over the Titans, his former team, earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. He finished the season with 30 punt returns for 413 yards, leading the league in punt return yards despite missing five games due to injury. As a receiver, he also made 17 catches for 215 yards and two receiving touchdowns. Raymond was named Second-team

as a punt returner.

NFL statistics

References

External links

Detroit Lions bioHoly Cross Crusaders bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raymond, Kalif 1994 births Living people Players of American football from Lawrenceville, Georgia American football wide receivers Holy Cross Crusaders football players Denver Broncos players New York Jets players New York Giants players Tennessee Titans players Detroit Lions players Greater Atlanta Christian School alumni Asian American players of American football