Tag: Jets punters

Jets sign Braden Mann to rookie deal

The Jets have signed Braden Mann to his rookie deal.

The Jets have locked up their punter of the future.

According to the Daily News’ Manish Mehta, Braden Mann has agreed to the terms of his rookie contract. It’s a four-year deal worth $3.47 million. Mann’s 2020 cap charge is $654,000.

Mann was taken in the sixth-round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M. He was the first of two punters taken in the draft.

Mann was one of the nation’s best punters while at Texas A&M. In 2018, he won the Ray Guy Award for being college football’s best punter. Along with that award, Mann was a unanimous All-American, First-Team All-SEC and the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year. Mann was also First-Team All-SEC in 2019 as well.

Mann averaged 47.1 yards per punt in college. Of Mann’s 109 total punts, 13 of them were for touchbacks and 46 of them were inside the 20-yard line. His longest punt was 82 yards, which came in his junior season.

New York opened the way for Mann to be their starting punter by not re-signing Lachlan Edwards. The Jets don’t have another punter on their active roster, so unless Mann has an atrocious training camp, then he’ll be the punter for the Jets’ opener against the Bills.

Jets waive punter Ian Berryman

The Jets have waived punter Ian Berryman after officially signing Joe Flacco.

The Jets have cleared the way for Braden Mann to be their punter in 2020.

The team announced Wednesday that it has waived punter Ian Berryman after officially signing Joe Flacco to a one-year deal.

Berryman went undrafted out of Western Carolina in 2019 before signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He kicked in all four of the Steelers’ preseason games, totaling nine punts for 412 yards. Berryman averaged almost 46 yards per punt during the preseason.

However, that wasn’t good enough to make the Steelers roster. Berryman was cut right before the start of the regular season. The Jets signed him to a reserve/future contract following the conclusion of the 2019 regular season.

This move all but indicates that Mann will be the punter for the Jets next season.

Braden Mann not the first Aggies punter drafted by Jets

The last time the Jets took a punter out of Texas A&M was Steve O’Neal in 1969 and he recorded the longest punt ever in football history.

The last time the New York Jets drafted a punter out of Texas A&M, they found a diamond in the rough.

Braden Mann became the latest Aggies punter to hear his name called by the Jets, but long before him was Steve O’Neal. He was taken with the 21st pick of the 13th round in the 1969 Common Draft back when the Jets were in the AFL. Right away, O’Neal made an instant impact with one of the most historic punts in football history.

On Sept. 21, 1969, the Jets were playing the Denver Broncos. The Jets were pinned back near their own goal line and forced to punt, so on came O’Neal. He booted a 98-yard punt, the longest ever in professional football then and still today.

O’Neal only played four seasons with the Jets from 1969 through 1972. His final season in football was in 1973 with the Saints. In four seasons with the Jets, O’Neal only averaged about 41 yards per punt attempt.

Now the Jets have drafted their second punter ever out of Texas A&M in Mann. The Jets took him in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

While Mann is not expected to do what O’Neal did, he does come to the Jets with an impressive reputation. Mann won the Ray Guy Award in 2018 for being the best punter in college football, so the Jets are hoping his leg can translate to the pros.

WATCH: Highlights of new Jets P Braden Mann

Here are some highlights of new Jets punter Braden Mann at Texas A&M.

The New York Jets took one of the best punters in college football in Texas A&M’s Braden Mann with one of their sixth-round picks in the 2020 draft.

Mann was the 2018 Ray Guy Award winner, which recognizes the best punter in college football. Mann became the Aggies’ full-time punter in his junior season in 2018. On 50 punts in 2018, he averaged 51 yards per punt. That number fell slightly in 2019 to 47.1 yards per punt on 57 attempts. Mann was also a team captain for Texas A&M.

Here are some of Mann’s best punts in a 2018 game against Clemson: