Hester signed with the Falcons ahead of the 2014 campaign after spending the first eight years of his career with the Chicago Bears. He had surgery in January, preventing him from full participation in offseason workouts.
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Hester suffered a turf toe injury following the third preseason game at Miami last season and was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return, but his inability to push off and cut made him functionally ineffective through the last five games of the season. Ellington has been a solid kick returner for the 49ers, finishing ninth last season with 25.6 yards per return.
Assuming we’ve seen the last of Hester on a football field, the questions will soon start regarding his Hall of Fame-worthiness. “Not to be evasive about it, but we wish him a lot of luck and we think it’s best for the organization for us to move forward”.
Hester, 33, holds the National Football League record with 20 career kicks returned for touchdowns. “Obviously there are business moves when we make a move like we did with Devin, but that wasn’t what was directing our other potential acquisitions, not at all”.
The Falcons expect wide receivers Eric Weems and Devin Fuller and running back Tevin Coleman to compete for spots on kickoff and punt returns.
The long list of candidates on returns was a factor in the move. Why not bring in Hester and see if he still has the ability to return kicks? He switched to wide receiver and has 255 career catches for 3,311 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Hester holds the record with 14 punt returns for touchdowns, including a 68-yarder with the Falcons in 2014. That’s a far cry from 2014 when he actually played a big role in the Atlanta offense, with 38 catches for 504 yards and two touchdowns.
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Players report for training camp Wednesday and open camp Thursday.
