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Ravens might have a new return man

Lost in all the Kick-Six celebration is the big play that Kaelin Clay made and what that might mean for the Ravens going forward.

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Ravens received some contributions from their young guys on Monday. Brent Urban blocked a field goal, Will Hill took it back for the game-winning touchdown, Buck Allen has 16 touches for 84 yards and a touchdown, Kamar Aiken had six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown, Terrence West had seven carries for 37 yards, Timmy Jernigan made Josh McCown's night awful, and Brandon Williams was his usual dominant self.

But Kaelin Clay continues to go under the radar, despite the fact that he made a big difference in the game's impact. If not for Clay returning a Cleveland punt 82 yards for the touchdown, the Ravens might not have won the game, as the Kick-Six only would've brought the score to 26-27 and the Ravens would've needed to get a two-point conversion to win the game. Clay deserves some more props.

While we're talking about Clay, we might as well talk about his history. Clay played one year of college football at Utah as a wide receiver and return man. Clay averaged 15 yards per punt return and has three punt return touchdowns and as a kick returner he had an average of 24.9 yards per return and he took one kickoff back for a touchdown. For his efforts, Clay was named First-team All Pac 12 as a return specialist in 2014.

He also put up 523 yards and 4 touchdowns as a receiver. Unfortunately for Clay, most people only remember this play from his college career.

But even with that, Clay was drafted in the sixth round of this year's draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was released by the Buccaneers on September 15th and on September 22nd he was signed by the Detroit Lions to be part of their practice squad. The Ravens would sign him on November 17th after Breshad Perriman went on IR and he got his first in-game action against the St. Louis Rams. Outside of Clay's 82 yard return, he has a 35 yard punt return and he's returned two kicks for an average of 19.5 yards

The Ravens have had some issues with returners this season, as injuries continue to keep Michael Campanaro from reaching his full potential and Jeremy Ross couldn't stop fumbling the ball. Clay has already made the most of his brief tenure here and if he continues to impress and stay healthy, he might just be the next field-flipping return man for the Ravens