Between the 1930 and 1979 seasons, Lem Barney gained the most punt-return yards for the Lions, with 1,312 yards.
| NAME | PR YDS | GP | KR | KR YDS | KR AVG | KR YDS/G | KR TD | PR | PR AVG | PR YDS/G | PR TD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | L. Barney | 1,312 | 140 | 50 | 1,274 | 25.5 | 9.1 | 1 | 143 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 2 |
| 2 | | J. Christiansen | 1,084 | 89 | 59 | 1,329 | 22.5 | 14.9 | 0 | 85 | 12.8 | 12.2 | 8 |
| 3 | | T. Watkins | 970 | 64 | 91 | 2,262 | 24.9 | 35.3 | 0 | 94 | 10.3 | 15.2 | 3 |
| 4 | | Y. Lary | 758 | 133 | 22 | 495 | 22.5 | 3.7 | 0 | 126 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 3 |
| 5 | | P. Studstill | 716 | 77 | 75 | 1,924 | 25.7 | 25.0 | 1 | 59 | 12.1 | 9.3 | 0 |
| 6 | | B. Dudley | 448 | 28 | 38 | 809 | 21.3 | 28.9 | 0 | 30 | 14.9 | 16.0 | 2 |
| 7 | | D. Jauron | 405 | 58 | 19 | 426 | 22.4 | 7.3 | 0 | 40 | 10.1 | 7.0 | 0 |
| 8 | | F. Sinkwich | 376 | 20 | 11 | 272 | 24.7 | 13.6 | 0 | 22 | 17.1 | 18.8 | 0 |
| 9 | | W. Triplett | 375 | 18 | 8 | 411 | 51.4 | 22.8 | 1 | 32 | 11.7 | 20.8 | 1 |
| 10 | | T. Vaughn | 298 | 88 | 62 | 1,595 | 25.7 | 18.1 | 0 | 33 | 9.0 | 3.4 | 0 |
| 11 | | H. Cassady | 292 | 74 | 53 | 1,112 | 21.0 | 15.0 | 0 | 35 | 8.3 | 3.9 | 0 |
| 12 | | D. Walker | 284 | 67 | 38 | 968 | 25.5 | 14.4 | 0 | 18 | 15.8 | 4.2 | 1 |
| 13 | | D. Ryan | 277 | 22 | 22 | 470 | 21.4 | 21.4 | 0 | 22 | 12.6 | 12.6 | 0 |
| 14 | | E. Payton | 273 | 8 | 18 | 457 | 25.4 | 57.1 | 1 | 27 | 10.1 | 34.1 | 1 |
| 15 | | T. Barr | 262 | 102 | 26 | 655 | 25.2 | 6.4 | 1 | 50 | 5.2 | 2.6 | 0 |
| 16 | | W. White | 262 | 11 | 11 | 285 | 25.9 | 25.9 | 0 | 19 | 13.8 | 23.8 | 0 |
| 17 | | C. West | 260 | 54 | 6 | 112 | 18.7 | 2.1 | 0 | 31 | 8.4 | 4.8 | 0 |
| 18 | | J. Watt | 202 | 20 | 16 | 248 | 15.5 | 12.4 | 0 | 16 | 12.6 | 10.1 | 0 |
| 19 | | J. Robinson | 185 | 14 | 6 | 127 | 21.2 | 9.1 | 0 | 13 | 14.2 | 13.2 | 1 |
| 20 | | J. Steffen | 178 | 28 | 27 | 660 | 24.4 | 23.6 | 0 | 28 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 0 |
| 21 | | J. Arnold | 164 | 7 | 23 | 539 | 23.4 | 77.0 | 0 | 19 | 8.6 | 23.4 | 0 |
| 22 | | D. Doll | 162 | 47 | 32 | 808 | 25.3 | 17.2 | 0 | 15 | 10.8 | 3.4 | 0 |
| 23 | | J. Thompson | 161 | 11 | 14 | 346 | 24.7 | 31.5 | 0 | 16 | 10.1 | 14.6 | 0 |
| 24 | | J. Girard | 140 | 56 | 30 | 648 | 21.6 | 11.6 | 0 | 29 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 0 |
| 25 | | L. Thompson | 136 | 73 | 36 | 799 | 22.2 | 10.9 | 0 | 12 | 11.3 | 1.9 | 0 |
StatMuse has season-level data for punt-return yards going back to the 1941 season.
More Lions Stats
Team Leaders 
PASS
4,564
Goff
RUSH
1,223
Gibbs
REC
1,401
St. Brown
Team Rankings
PPG
28.3
4th
OPP PPG
24.3
22nd
RUSH YDS/G
120.1
14th
PASS YDS/G
268.6
3rd
NFL 2025 Leaders
NFL 2025 Rankings
NFL Fantasy 2025
NFL 2025 Betting
NFL 2025 Standings
| AFC East | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Patriots - y | 14 | 3 | 0 | .824 |
 Bills - w | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 |
 Dolphins - e | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 |
 Jets - e | 3 | 14 | 0 | .176 |
| AFC North | W | L | T | PCT |
 Steelers - y | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 |
 Ravens - e | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 |
 Bengals - e | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 |
 Browns - e | 5 | 12 | 0 | .294 |
| AFC South | W | L | T | PCT |
 Jaguars - y | 13 | 4 | 0 | .765 |
 Texans - w | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 |
 Colts - e | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 |
 Titans - e | 3 | 14 | 0 | .176 |
| AFC West | W | L | T | PCT |
 Broncos - z* | 14 | 3 | 0 | .824 |
 Chargers - w | 11 | 6 | 0 | .647 |
 Chiefs - e | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 |
 Raiders - e | 3 | 14 | 0 | .176 |
| NFC East | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Eagles - y | 11 | 6 | 0 | .647 |
 Cowboys - e | 7 | 9 | 1 | .441 |
 Commanders - e | 5 | 12 | 0 | .294 |
 Giants - e | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 |
| NFC North | W | L | T | PCT |
 Bears - y | 11 | 6 | 0 | .647 |
 Packers - w | 9 | 7 | 1 | .559 |
 Vikings - e | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 |
 Lions - e | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 |
| NFC South | W | L | T | PCT |
 Panthers - y | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 |
 Buccaneers - e | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 |
 Falcons - e | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 |
 Saints - e | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 |
| NFC West | W | L | T | PCT |
 Seahawks - z* | 14 | 3 | 0 | .824 |
 Rams - w | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 |
 49ers - w | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 |
 Cardinals - e | 3 | 14 | 0 | .176 |
