Reggie Bush Eager to Make Impact With 49ers

Veteran running back says he'd like to return punts with 49ers, just as he did in his time with New Orleans Saints

There were moments during Reggie Bush’s five seasons with the New Orleans Saints that he looked like the most electric talent in the NFL.

In 2008, Bush scored two touchdowns rushing, four more on passes and three returning punts. That season, Bush returned 20 punts for a 13.5-yard average, with a long of 71. The next season, he returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown in a playoff victory over the Cardinals (a game in which he also had a 46-yard TD run).

For his career, Bush has returned 98 regular-season punts for a 7.9-yard average and four TDs. He has 11 postseason returns for a 13.1-yard average.

Now Bush, 30, says he would love to return punts again for the 49ers in 2015.

He last returned a punt in an NFL game in 2011 with the Miami Dolphins, but he believes he can be an impact performer on special teams for his new team. It’s already anticipated that Bush – who’ll share running back duties with Carlos Hyde, Kendall Hunter and possibly rookie Mike Davis – will give the 49ers some speed as a ball carrier and pass catcher out of the backfield. But he’d like to contribute as a returner again, too.

“Just speaking with the coaches, I told them I wanted to return punts and they were all for it,” Bush told reporters during recent organized team activities (OTAs). "I think it’s something that gives me another way to showcase my talents and help the team. The past four years, just sitting back and watching, it was something I kind of missed, making an impact from a special teams standpoint.”

New head coach Jim Tomsula seems willing to give Bush the opportunity. In fact, Tomsula seems eager to get Bush into the open field in any way possible. He’s called Bush an “every-down back” who isn’t a “gadget guy.”

But Tomsula says Bush has shown that he can make an enormous impact with the ball in his hands, whether it’s on designed runs, short passes or punt returns.

Said Tomsula: “Reggie’s a very good space player.”

Among other players in the mix to return punts are second-year wideout Bruce Ellington and former Australian rugby star Jarryd Hayne.

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