Allen Park — When Kalif Raymond walked off the field at the end of the 2017 season, he thought he’d played his last game of football. Undrafted, and still unproven two years into his NFL career, he was riddled with doubt after a tumultuous year, split playing for the two New York teams that shared a home stadium.
But, that year ended up being a turning point.
In the months that followed, Raymond channeled his motivation and discovered a previously unknown mental fortitude that would help him overcome any future adversity. He only wishes he had the power to tell that former version of himself, “Dude, it’s going to hurt now, but this is who you’re going to become.”
After spending his rookie year with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent, the speedy Raymond was plucked off waivers by the Jets days before the start of the 2017 season. It was in those next few days that the reality of the business side of the NFL hit hard and fast.
“I think someone told me this a couple years later, and it all clicked: The first time you really become a pro is when you leave your first team,” Raymond said. “Everything changes with your rhythm. Practice schedule, massage, pre-game, you don’t know where the locker room is, you don’t know where the cafeteria is, you don’t know the plays or the guys. Now you’re in a spot where you’re trying to create relationships that aren’t there. It’s the first time you become a pro. That’s what being a pro is — being able to go in, adapt and adjust.”
The Jets weren’t a good team, coming off a 5-11 season and heading for another one, in a stage where they were throwing things against the wall to see what stuck. So, a week after adding Raymond, they asked him to return punts in the team’s regular-season opener.
It wasn’t something that would stick. In that first game, Raymond muffed two punts. He mishandled another the following week against the Raiders, but this one he lost. The Raiders recovered it at the 4-yard line and scored three plays later on their way to a 45-20 victory that sent the Jets to 0-2 on the season.
That was enough to earn Raymond a pink slip, and while he stuck around a short while longer on the team’s practice squad, he never played another down for the franchise. He eventually ended up with the Giants, where he caught one pass and averaged a paltry 4.7 yards returning punts across the final eight games.
So, yeah, he had good reason to think he’d never play again. He went into that offseason with a decision — quit or find a way to get better.
He chose the latter.
Raymond quickly established a new routine. He got up every morning at 6 a.m. and ran a little more than a mile, followed by stretching and meditation, leading into a 9 a.m. workout. At noon, he’d spend two hours on a JUGS machine he’d bought, catching hundreds of passes and punts. He’d cap his days with jiu-jitsu and a 9 p.m. workout focused on his footwork and core.
Everything had a purpose. Raymond was attacking his weaknesses. He noticed fatigue setting in during the fourth quarter of preseason games, so he made sure to incorporate cardio. The JUGS workouts were centered around fielding punts and in-breaking routes, where he had struggled with consistency his first two seasons. Even the jiu-jitsu factored into football, enhancing his grip.
But, the key to all of it would end up being the meditation. What started as a casual suggestion from former Broncos teammate Bennie Fowler (Detroit Country Day) has morphed into a key part of Raymond’s life. Initially relying on the app Headspace, Raymond started with a few minutes each day. Five years later, it remains an integral part of his daily routine, including multi-hour float sessions, also known as sensory deprivation, on his days off. Through it, he’s learned the power of mental balance, helping him avoid the traps of getting too high and too low.
“That year taught me a lot about how to mentally adjust,” Raymond said. “In new situations, new environments, I learned to be controlled, calm, gather my surroundings and find my niche. …I think no matter what, it’s always going to be a fight. I’m going to have nerves every time I go back there to catch a punt.
“I don’t think, as a man, you ever find a level of comfort,” Raymond said. “The work is never done, but as long as you keep fighting, you’ll be able to handle the highs and the lows. I have ammo now. I have a weapon and a shield to fight.”
Finding a niche
In 2018, Raymond landed in Tennessee. He’d spend the next three years there, bouncing between the Titans’ active roster and practice squad. He didn’t appear in a regular-season game the first year, but he slowly carved out a small role on offense and as a special-teams contributor in the next two seasons.
That led him to Detroit, where for the first time in his career, he’s developed into a key cog on the roster. In 2021, he caught 48 passes for 576 yards and four touchdowns for the Lions, essentially doubling his production from the previous five seasons.
That earned him a two-year contract extension with the team in the offseason. And despite the Lions making additional upgrades to their receiving corps, Raymond has continued to have an impact, hauling in 34 balls for 401 yards through 13 games. He also ranks among the league leaders with a 12.6-yard average on punt returns.
“Leaf’s doing a hell of a job,” coach Dan Campbell said. “I mean he’s giving us something every week.”
Shooting a video feature for the team’s website this offseason, Raymond viewed footage of the muffed punt he lost against the Raiders while with the Jets and was hit by an immediate wave of emotion. He hadn’t watched that low point of his career in years.
“That made me cry, not thinking about the play that happened, but I was so proud of myself because of my growth since that day,” he said. “That experience of what I overcame at that time has helped me relate to siblings, my family, teammates, young guys. I was just so thankful for that moment. I was so proud.”
On Sunday, Raymond will suit up against the Jets for the first time in his career, when the Lions travel to New York for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers