FRISCO, Texas — Cowboys special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen wants more punt return chances for KaVontae Turpin this season after the three-time Pro Bowl returner fielded nine last year, by Sorensen’s count.
Turpin led the NFL in kickoff return yards in 2025 with 1,814, NFL.com’s player notes show, but added only 55 on punt returns. The Dallas Cowboys open the season Sunday night against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Kickoff is 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
Sorensen is in his second season running Dallas’ special teams after joining Brian Schottenheimer’s first staff as head coach in 2025. Some of the low punt return total was the plan, Sorensen said, and some of it was technique.
“Oh, much,” Sorensen said of how much better Turpin can be. “A lot of it, we got to block better. Hopefully we get more opportunities on punt return. I think he only had nine returns last year. Some of it’s the plan, but also it’s just us with our technique. But I think hopefully it’s going to be a really big year for them.”
Turpin’s instincts are hard to teach, according to Sorensen.
“I think it’s hard to judge too much of that because they’re in there and this stuff is going so fast, and you don’t want them to hesitate,” Sorensen explained. “We want to run through the smoke on kickoff returns. We’re going to design blocks a certain way, but you could have leverage on a block and they could press into that leverage. And now you’ve got to flip leverage and he’ll run off your back.
“So his main thing is he obviously has great speed, but his instincts and toughness, you can’t take that away from him,” Sorensen continued. “His instincts are so good. It’s hard to teach that with guys. And I think that’s what makes him such a great returner. And he’s so well respected throughout the league. That’s why you see a lot of guys trying punting away from him, punting out of bounds and trying to really paint the sidelines on kickoffs and stuff.
“So really with him, it’s just a trust factor,” Sorensen added. “We trust him. He’s proven it. And we just got to block really well for him and hopefully he can just beat one or maybe beat another guy and go all the way.”
KaVontae Turpin Led The NFL In Kickoff Return Yards In 2025
Turpin also led the league in kickoff return yards in 2024, when he had 907 on 27 returns. That season he returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns, including a 99-yard kickoff return at Washington in Week 12, and was a first-team All-Pro. He was a second-team All-Pro in 2025 and has been to the Pro Bowl three times, most recently after last season.
On offense in 2025, Turpin caught 26 passes for 396 yards and two touchdowns and ran 17 times for 89 yards in 15 games. He signed a three-year contract with Dallas in March 2025.
Turpin is listed at 5-foot-9 and 153 pounds. He played at TCU and was the 2022 USFL MVP with the New Jersey Generals before signing with the Cowboys that summer.
Balancing Turpin’s return work with his snaps on offense involves Schottenheimer and offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, Sorensen said.
“We’re definitely in communication about it,” Sorensen said. “It depends on the situation but so far it hasn’t been a huge issue. He’s really tough. He can fight through stuff, and they’re aware when he’s back there or what the return might be going into a drive.”
Nick Sorensen On Special Teams Penalties And Chris Horton’s Giants
Penalties were one of the main reasons Dallas emphasized its return game this offseason, Sorensen said, with the focus on clean hands and blocking with the feet. No two of last season’s penalties were the same, by his account.
“They understand you have to show them how it hurts us because those become almost like a DPI,” Sorensen said. “They become not just 10-yard penalties or 15-yard penalties, you’re erasing what could have been a 40-, 50-yard return. Now they’re going to go ahead and take a 10-yard holding call from where at the spot of the foul. So that could be a 40-yard penalty.
“So we just show how it affected us, affected the team, and then show versions of what we want it to look like, and then just rep it in practice,” Sorensen noted.
Across the field Sunday, Chris Horton runs special teams for the Giants and is also John Harbaugh’s assistant head coach. Horton spent 12 seasons on Harbaugh’s staff with the Baltimore Ravens, the last seven as special teams coordinator, Giants.com said when the Giants announced the hire. Harbaugh broke into the NFL as the Philadelphia Eagles’ special teams coordinator in 1998.
Sorensen has a ton of respect for how Harbaugh’s teams played in Baltimore.
“They had some change, just like everybody does,” Sorensen said. “There’s new players. Obviously, you can look at Chris Horton and history and John Harbaugh. They always stress special teams. I have a ton of respect for how his teams have always played in Baltimore. They play with a lot of effort. They play very physical. We like to pride ourselves on that. So it’s just a really good matchup.
“And it’s just a matter of, how are the new guys going to, what’s he going to carry over from last year? Because kickoff was slightly different,” Sorensen continued. “And then what little tweaks with some of the little changes with the rules. So we’ll find that out.”
Dallas plays its home opener Sept. 20 against the Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium.
