The Detroit Lions have announced that they have signed punter/kicker Ryan Santoso and running back/kick returner Kerwynn Williams to futures contracts.
Santoso made some noise in Lions training camp with a gigantic leg and the ability to both punt and place kick. In the preseason, Santoso averaged 40.8 yards per punt, but has shown the ability for greater success averaging 43.0 yards per punt as a senior at Minnesota.
He will have some work to do to beat out Sam Martin — who averaged 44.7-yards per punt last year but has a career average of 46.1 yards per punt — but Martin is in the final year of his contract extension and has a cap hit of $3,000,000 in 2019 according to OverTheCap.com.
The key for Santoso will be his accuracy, which was extremely inconsistent in the preseason and likely why he remained out of the NFL until today’s signing.
Williams left Utah State a year before Lions corner Nevin Lawson and was drafted in the seventh round, pick 230, by the Indianapolis Colts. He bounced between the Colts practice squad and active roster for the first month of his rookie season, before eventually being released in October. He immediately joined the Chargers practice squad where he finished out the season.
The following offseason he joined the Arizona Cardinals where he would spend the next three years alternating between the active roster, the practice squad and off the roster entirely.
Lions fans may remember him for the 2017 season opener where he had to fill in for an injured David Johnson and received five carries which he converted into 10-yards and a touchdown.
This past offseason he joined the Kansas City Chiefs in training camp but was released at the 53-man cut downs and he did not join another roster in 2018. His chances for the roster are much lower.
