A new wrinkle emerges in Titans' heated position battle
A new wrinkle has emerged in the Tennessee Titans punter competition, making an already difficult decision even more complicated. Although rookie punter Ryan Stonehouse was not one of the four punters selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, Stonehouse still came out of college at Colorado State as the NCAA Career Record Holder for Punt Average […]
A new wrinkle has emerged in the Tennessee Titans punter competition, making an already difficult decision even more complicated.
Although rookie punter Ryan Stonehouse was not one of the four punters selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, Stonehouse still came out of college at Colorado State as the NCAA Career Record Holder for Punt Average (47.8 yards).
Stonehouse's powerful leg landed him an undrafted free agent contract with the Titans on April 30, and an opportunity to compete for the job with veteran Brett Kern during training camp.
Kern has been with the Titans since 2009, and has punted his way into three Pro-Bowl selections. He is a longtime staple of the Titans special teams unit, but at 36-years-old, he's not the same player he used to be.
Kern also has a $2.75 Million cap hit attached to his contract. That's the 14th highest on the team, and certainly doesn't help his case when consider that the Titans could clear about $1.5 Million total by keeping Stonehouse instead.
As if the decision wasn't already hard enough for head coach Mike Vrabel and GM Jon Robinson, a new development may present an even bigger challenge.
Rigoberto Sanchez, the punter for the division rival Indianapolis Colts, is out for the season with a torn achilles.
With Indianapolis looking for a replacement for Sanchez, it's likely that whoever winds up being cut by the Titans could find their way to the division rival Colts for the season.
You certainly don't want to give a division rival a young special teams weapon in Stonehouse, especially when he's under contract for the next four seasons, but there's nobody that wants to see Brett Kern in a Colts uniform.
Now just one week from final cut day, and it's still hard to tell which way things are leaning in this position battle.
Coming to Play
I will say this much, Ryan Stonehouse is doing everything he can to win the job.
After getting more regular reps during special teams periods (including reps as the holder for Randy Bullock field goals), everyone is beginning to notice what Stonehouse can bring to the table.
His punts during practice on Wednesday were averaging 60+ yards through the air with a funky spiral that caused three muffs from Titans punt returner Kyle Philips.
This coming just days after Stonehouse showed off his improvisational skills against Tampa Bay when he couldn't handle a snap.
I had the chance to talk with Stonehouse after practice on Wednesday about his performance in camp this far, what he's learned from competing with veteran Brett Kern, and the pressure that comes with cut day looming:
"I think I've done a good job, but I still have a long way to go," Stonehouse said. "I still have more work to on, especially on +50's and that 60-40 ball. There's aspects of my game that are still improving."
Cut day around the NFL is Tuesday, August 30. That is when 53-man rosters need to be made, and it is then that we will finally know which guy will be booting punts for the Titans in 2022.
Image via George Walker IV / Tennessean.com-USA TODAY NETWORK
