Del Rio Says He Still Trusts Jalen Richard To Handle Punts

Sunday was one to forget for Jalen Richard. Three fumbles and a bobbled punt contributed to what may have been his worst game as a pro.

Richard now has six fumbles on the year and it would seem reasonable that the Raiders would look at other options to return punts.

But as it turns out, head coach Jack Del Rio still has confidence in Richard. Asked this week if Richard will continue to take punt returns Del Rio nodded and said, “I trust Jalen to do a good job.”

Not a glowing endorsement, but enough to suggest Richard hasn’t lost his job.

Del Rio knows his team, but it’s fair to wonder how much confidence Richard has after Sunday’s shaky effort against the Giants. Coming back to handle punts in a game of Sunday’s magnitude is more than enough pressure – let alone the fact that he’ll be asked to recover from the yips in a hostile environment like Arrowhead Stadium.

Should Richard have a big day on special teams against the Chiefs, Del Rio will rightly look like a genius – and he’ll hear about here first.

On the other hand, if Richard happens to cough up a critical fumble on special teams… well, Del Rio would probably be getting what he bargained for.

And he’ll hear about it here first.

twitter: @raidersbeat