GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Desmond King reinforced why the Texans felt confident in moving on from former Pro Bowl return specialist Andre Roberts and installing him as their punt returner during a road loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
The former Pro Bowl cornerback provided a boost to the Texans' languishing return game, returning four punts for 51 yards and a 12.8 average and a long return of 20 yards. He also had a 14-yard punt returner.
Roberts, cut by the Texans after producing a career-low 4.1 punt return average and a 21.4 kickoff return average after dealing with a knee injury that needed to be drained during the preseason, is now with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Meanwhile, cornerback Tremon Smith and wide receiver Danny Amendola were the kickoff returners with Smith having a 27-yard return and Amendola producing a 15-yard return.
“Desmond gave us some juice in our return game," Texans coach David Culley said following the 31-5 defeat at State Farm Stadium. "We knew he had that in him, but when Andre was here, that’s what Andre was here for. We gave him an opportunity to do that, and we weren’t getting the production. It was Desmond’s turn to come up and he obviously did a good job for us today – gave us some positive plays in our special teams."