On Wednesday, the NFL named Buccaneers running back Bobby Rainey the NFC's Special Teams Player of the Week. Rainey excelled returning punts against the Jaguars, picking up 85 yards on three returns, an average of 28.3 yards per attempt. Rainey brought back one of those three punts for 58 yards, the longest of his career.
The third-year pro is averaging 13.3 yards per punt return this season.
Rainey has been the Bucs' primary punt returner through five games and has aleardy handled twice as many punts as he did in the first two years of his career. In 2014, he returned seven punts with a long of 14 yards.
He has also been utilized on kickoffs, albeit not as frequently. Rainey has returned eight kicks for 231 yards this year, an average of 29.9 yards per attempt. On his career, Rainey is averaging 11.5 yards per punt return and 26.6 yards per kick return.
Two more Buccaneers, Jameis Winston and Doug Martin, are up for awards as well. Winston has been nominated for the NFL's Rookie of the Week award for the second time this season while Martin is a nominee for the NFL's Ground Player of the week.
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