KaVontae Turpin says he’ll stop fair catch fakeouts, but Cowboys’ return issues run deeper

FRISCO — Cowboys wide receiver and returner KaVontae Turpin has been flagged twice in the last three games for invalid fair catch signals. The penalties, Turpin said, have been a product of a debate he has when the ball is in the air between taking the safe route and fair catching punts, or being aggressive. Turpin said he hasn’t had too many punt return opportunities this year, fueling his interest in being aggressive when he can.

Aggressiveness, however, is not an option after a punt returner raises their hand for a fair catch. The penalty is a loss of five yards.

There is no debate, Turpin said, about how he’ll respond to the rare run of invalid fair catch penalties.

“I’m just going to stop,” Turpin said, “and do what needs to be done.”

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Cowboys special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen said earlier this week that he’s also not worried about Turpin making the necessary changes.

“Just be clear: fair catch or don’t fair catch,” Sorensen said. “Either way. I’m not worried about it. He’ll be fine.”

There is a question about how effective the Cowboys’ kickoff return unit will be against the Minnesota Vikings. Turpin was a first-team All-Pro selection last season as a kick and punt returner. This season, Turpin and the kickoff return unit have been less effective. The Cowboys average 24.9 yards per kickoff return, which is 25th in the NFL. They’re 29th in the NFL in punt return average.

“If we can get stuff started with the gunners and stuff, I think I can get back to my old self,” Turpin said in regard to punt returns. “We just have to get that thing started.”

As for generating better kick returns, Turpin echoed something that Sorensen said earlier in the week. Sorensen, when discussing the Cowboys’ issue on kickoff coverage against the Lions last Thursday, said the kickoff players weren’t fighting off blocks. He also said they weren’t fighting off uncalled holds from the Lions’ kickoff return team. Sorensen said that’s part of the game, whether they go uncalled or called, but he challenged his kickoff coverage unit to fight against those potential holds more.

On the flip side, Turpin suggested something similar for how the team’s kickoff return can have better success. He insinuated that his kickoff return team needs to hold onto their blocks more. Sorensen said recently that they need all 10 other players to finish their blocks if they want Turpin to break a big return.

“The blocking technique isn’t going the way that we wanted to,” he said. “We need to start holding people like they’re holding us on kickoff. That’s what I feel like. That’s a lot of what we did last year … if we get back to there, and we just start holding them like they hold us on kickoff, I feel like things will be alright.”

Twitter/X: @JoeJHoyt

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