I don't mind the coach taking a few risks. Sometimes I wish he would take a few more. Putting Tramon in for returns is like going for it on 4th and 1 on your own 40 in the 1st quarter. Why?
Without Harris, this risk is unnecessary and has very little upside to it.
Last year Tramon had a 10.4 average. Including the 94 yard return Tramon is averaging 13.3 so it seems that the 10.4 yard per return average is indicative of what we will see from him this year.
Jordy 5.3. That means Mike is risking the integrity of the defense for 5 yards. It doesn't seem to be a worthwhile risk to me.
I agree that field position is critical but "on average" all the teams as a whole just don't gain that much in punt returns. Last year the best punt return avg was 15.2 by DeSean Jackson (Phil). (1 TD's from his returns and he fair caught 15 of the 44 punts.) The best returner in the NFL only had 10 yards more than Jordy on the ones he could return. At least a third of the punts he got nothing out of. And the stats don't show how many of punts were downed by the kicking team.
I understand that 10 yards can mean the difference getting a field goal and another punt but it is hypothetical and having an undrafted rookie filling in for Tramon could mean a couple of TD's per game.
Now if Tramon averaged 18 yards a return and had a 2 TD or 2 per year, it might be something to consider.