Tag: Tyler Newsome

Every NFL team’s most underrated player heading into 2022

These players don’t get the recognition they deserve in the NFL

The NFL has no shortage of superstars who are the face of the league. But there are plenty of impact players in the NFL who don’t necessarily get the recognition they deserve.

Whether overlooked or ignored altogether, these players are significant contributors to their respective teams.

They’ve had proven success but haven’t necessarily gotten the praise they deserve.

Our NFL Wire editors examined the most underrated player for each team heading into the 2022 season, highlighting why they’re deserving of recognition.

Cardinals release one punter to bring back another

They claimed Ryan Winslow, who was on their roster in 2019, after he was released by the Packers. They cut Tyler Newsome as a result.

The Arizona Cardinals announced a pair of roster moves on Tuesday, both dealing with punters. They were awarded a waiver claim on punter Ryan Winslow, who was cut by the Green Bay Packers.

To make room for Winslow, they released Tyler Newsome, who had impressed in the offseason and training camp.

Winslow used to play for the Cardinals. He played two games for Arizona back in 2019 when Andy Lee was injured.

He averaged 44.2 yards on his six punts for the Cardinals. Two were downed inside the 20.

Winslow will get some work in the Cardinals’ two remaining preseason games and, while he likely will not make the team, if he is brought back to the practice squad, they will have a punter they know and trust if they need him.

And if he doesn’t land with another team during the season, he potentially could be the Cardinals’ punter in 2022 if Andy Lee decides to retire.

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Cardinals K Matt Prater likely to handle kickoff duties for 1st time since 2013

The new Cardinals kicker has not done kickoffs since 2013 but might have to this coming season for Arizona.

The Arizona Cardinals believe they upgraded the kicker position this offseason when they signed Matt Prater, who turns 37 years old this month. However, in doing so, they might need a kickoff specialist, as he has not handled kickoff duties full-time since 2013.

However, it appears, at least early in camp, that Prater will need to kick off this year.

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said a final decision has not been made but it is leaning in that direction.

“We’re still working through that,” he told reporters Saturday. “That’s probably where we are at right now, but we’ll see how it all plays out.”

When the Cardinals simulated kickoffs in practice on Saturday, it was punter Tyler Newsome who lined up to kick the ball before they used a machine to practice kick returns.

Newsome is an intriguing punter but because Andy Lee has a chunk of his 2021 salary fully guaranteed, it is unlikely Newsome could unseat Lee for the punting job. It would mean keeping a second punter on the roster and active on game days to just do kickoffs.

Prater certainly has the leg to be able to kick the ball off, as he hit field goals as long as 66 yards in practice.

Kingsbury said Prater would be willing to do it. “I think he’s good with anything,” he said. “He’s a competitor and liked to be out there playing.”

The Cardinals’ first preseason game is August 13. We will see if Prater kicks off at all then,

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Tyler Newsome offers intrigue but unlikely to unseat Andy Lee as punter

Veteran punter Andy Lee has $650,000 in fully guaranteed salary in 2021. Even with Newsome’s booming offseason kicks, he won’t likely win the job.

The Arizona Cardinals have a veteran group of specialists on their roster. They replaced kicker Zane Gonzalez with 36-year-old Matt Prater and re-signed punter Andy Lee. They also added a young punter, which is something the Cardinals do yearly.

They almost always have an extra kicker or punter on the roster in the offseason.

This year, they signed Tyler Newsome, a big-legged punter out of Notre Dame.

Some of his kicking in the offseason caught some attention on social media. He recorded a punt with a hang time of six seconds.

Former NFL punter Pat McAfee gave his thoughts.

Jim Nagy, executive director of the Senior Bowl, added information from his experience around scores of football players.

One would think that he could compete with Andy Lee for the punting job.

He will certainly be given the opportunity to compete, but the likelihood of winning job seems slim.

One, Lee has been incredibly consistent for years. Two, much of Lee’s contract is fully guaranteed. $650,000 of his $1.5 million salary is guaranteed. The Cardinals are not in the habit of cutting players whom they have to pay.

With an expanded practice squad again in 2021, he could be the specialist they keep there.

There is also a small chance they could keep him on the roster as a third kicker/punter if he can be a kickoff specialist.

Newsome might provide some intrigue in the preseason, but any thought he actually wins the job seems unlikely.

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Cardinals sign punter Tyler Newsome

He will give Andy Lee a break in the offseason and get a chance to show off for the rest of the league.

The Arizona Cardinals opened a roster spot last week with the release of quarterback Cole McDonald. They have filled that vacancy on the roster with a punter.

The team announced Tuesday that it had signed punter Tyler Newsome to a one-year deal.

What is there to know about the new punter? This is from the team’s press release:

Newsome (6-3, 219) played collegiately at Notre Dame and entered the league with the Chargers as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2019. He also spent time during the 2020 offseason with Kansas City. The 25-year old Newsome played 50 games at Notre Dame and punted 225 times for 9,909 yards (44.0-yard avg.) with a career long of 71 yards. He ended his Notre Dame career as the school’s record-holder for career punting average and single-game punting average. Newsome had 72 punts of 50+ yards and landed 75 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. 

Newsome is not likely going to beat out Andy Lee for the punting job during the season, as much of Lee’s 2021 contract is guaranteed. However, he will be able to get work with the Cardinals and give him a chance to be a backup plan or be able to sign elsewhere with his offseason work. Lee will likely limit his offseason work, as he is 39 years old.

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Chiefs hosted three free agents for visits on Monday

An offensive lineman, a wide receiver and a punter were in Kansas City for visits on Monday.

The Kansas City Chiefs hosted three free agents for visits on Monday, including a familiar face. According to the NFL’s transaction report, the Chiefs reported visits with OL Danny Isidora, WR Juwann Winfree and P Tyler Newsome.

Isidora, 26, was a former fifth-round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2017. He mostly operated as a backup along the interior offensive line in Minnesota. In 2019, he was traded to the Miami Dolphins. He’s appeared in 24 career games between the two teams starting in a total of six games. The Chiefs are short on offensive linemen on their practice squad, so signing Isidora could make some sense.

Winfree, 24, was a former sixth-round pick by the Chiefs’ AFC West division rival, the Denver Broncos. He was waived by the Broncos during 53-man roster cuts. According to our friends at Broncos Wire, Winfree only played in three games last season with most of his action coming on special teams. He also missed most of training camp with a groin injury.

Finally, the Chiefs brought back Newsome, who was with the team for the majority of the virtual offseason program. He was released during the cutdown from 90 players to 80 players earlier in the summer. It’s interesting that Kansas City would bring him back for a workout. It’s worth noting that Tommy Townsend, who won the punting job in Kansas City, isn’t dealing with an injury or anything like that.

Does this signal that the Chiefs have some doubts about Townsend’s potential to step in and be the starting punter for the team? Everything they’ve said up to this point wouldn’t suggest that. Perhaps the Chiefs anticipated that Dustin Colquitt would be available if they ran into injury trouble at the position. That, of course, won’t be the case now with Colquitt signing a free-agent deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Nevertheless, it’s good to see the team bringing in some new players. We’ll see if anything happens in the coming days as a result of these visits.

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Patriots Looking at Former Notre Dame Punter Tyler Newsome

A month ago, former Notre Dame punter Tyler Newsome was let go by the Kansas City Chiefs.

A month ago, former Notre Dame punter Tyler Newsome was let go by the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, he’s getting another chance to make it in the NFL. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe tweeted this out Tuesday:

Newsome was one of three punters brought into New England’s camp Tuesday. Among them was 2017 Green Bay Packers punter Justin Vogel. The Patriots also worked out two long snappers.

Newsome and the others obviously are auditioning to be the guy in the wings in case something happens to second-year punter Jake Bailey, who was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week twice as a rookie. Also in 2019, Bailey had the second-most punts in the NFL (81) and the third-most punting yards in the AFC (3,638). He’d have to significantly regress or get injured for Newsome to make the 53-man roster.

It’s about time for the Irish’s all-time leading punter to make an active NFL roster. If it doesn’t happen in New England, someone else better pick up the phone. There will be needs on other teams as their regular punters drop off somehow. Hopefully, Newsome is on everyone’s list.

Dave Toub details Chiefs’ punting competition between Tommy Townsend, Tyler Newsome

What is Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub looking for in his new punter?

If there is one position truly up for grabs for the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2020 offseason, it’s the punter position.

The Chiefs recently said goodbye to longtime punter Dustin Colquitt and with that decision comes a new punter battle in Kansas City. The Chiefs brought in free agent punter Tyler Newsome ahead of the 2020 NFL draft. They also signed their top-rated punter, Tommy Townsend, as an undrafted free agent following the draft.

“The kid’s got a lot of talent,” Toub said of Townsend during Tuesday’s media availability. “We really liked him coming out. I had him rated as the best punter coming out this year and he was available for us, and those guys got it done to get him. So that was a pretty good deal.”

Toub has been with Colquitt for the last seven seasons, so what is he looking for out of a new punter? Right now, it appears he’s just looking forward to a good competition between the two players in Kansas City.

“The No. 1 thing is, it is going to be a true competition,” Toub said. “There’s nobody really out in front right now as we look at it. I like them both. They’ve both got really strong legs, really powerful legs. They consistently hit over 5.0 [second] hang times, which is impressive. Tommy [Townsend] is a little [cleaner] in his technique as far as consistency, whereas Tyler [Newsome] is a little more erratic. But the results are the same. They both bomb the ball. We just need to clean Tyler up a bit more. But I’ll tell you what, the competition is going to be real fun.”

It sounds like Townsend is a bit ahead of Newsome early on in the process, but keep in mind that Toub hasn’t had an opportunity to coach these players hands-on yet. In lieu of the ability to work with the coaching staff, Harrison Butker and James Winchester are taking a role in developing the new punters, videotaping all the work they’re currently doing together.

“Right now, we’re kind of fortunate because those guys can get together and kick and work on the operation and they can do that on their own,” Toub explained. “So, we can work our skillset whereas to play football, you need 22 guys out there. It’s good for us at this time to be able to do those kinds of things. We just can’t sit down and meet face-to-face and I can’t be out there watching them, that’s the unfortunate thing. They video everything they do, and they send it to me, and we talk about it virtually. Yeah, it’s going to set us back a little bit because during this time of the year is when you’re working fundamentals with everybody else, and that’s going to be set back. But everybody’s in the same boat, we’re just going to have to hit the ground running when we do get to camp, or when we all get together.”

While the punting competition is currently taking place in the virtual space, rest assured that it won’t really kick-off until these players can get in front of their position coach. That’s when the real fun will begin.

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Who will be punter for Chiefs following release of Dustin Colquitt?

The Kansas City Chiefs have two punters on the roster, Tyler Newsome and Tommy Townsend, who will look to earn the starting job.

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The Kansas City Chiefs said goodbye to longtime punter Dustin Colquitt, releasing the 15-year veteran. It’s a tough pill to swallow for Chiefs fans, as another beloved player leaves the franchise. He was a lovable goofball with the fans and his teammates, as well as one of the best leaders in the locker room.

While Colquitt won’t be easily replaced, Kansas City will spend the offseason searching for their punter of the future. Colquitt also was the holder for the Chiefs’ kicking unit. Earlier this year, Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub called him the best holder he’s ever had during his 19 years coaching special teams. Finding an adequate replacement there will be just as important for as finding one that can boot punts inside the 20-yard line on the regular.

Right now the Chiefs have two punters on the roster, free agent signing Tyler Newsome and undrafted free agent signing Tommy Townsend.

Newsome is  6-3 and 219 pounds, playing college football at Notre Dame. He spent some time with the Chargers in 2019 but was released during 53-man roster cuts. He posted a career average of 44 yards per punt with the Fighting Irish, accumulating 9,909 punting yards in his four-year career. 75 of his 225 punts with Notre Dame landed within the 20-yard line. The one area of concern is that Newsome doesn’t appear to have experience as the holder at Notre Dame. You can find out more about Newsome here.

The newest punter for the Chiefs, Townsend was a transfer to Florida from Tennessee. Listed at 6-2 and 176 pounds, Townsend is a bit slighter than Newsome. During the 2018 college football season, he averaged 45.4 yards per punt on 51 total punts, earning recognition as a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award. During his senior season in 2019, he averaged 44 yards per punt on just 42 punts. Through the course of his career at Florida, 47.3% of his punts landed within the 20-yard line.

Two important factors might give Townsend the edge over Newsome. First, he was also the holder for the kicking game. His kicker in 2019, Evan McPherson, made 47-of-48 extra points and 17-of-19 field goals on the season. The second factor is that Townsend is athletic, running the second-fastest 40-yard dash among punters at the combine. That means he can be utilized on trick plays on special teams.

The Chiefs are gearing up for a training camp battle at the punter position. One of these two players will come out on top. If they don’t, Kansas City will be forced to look elsewhere for a punter, perhaps during 53-man roster cuts.

Notre Dame Folk Hero Signs with Super Bowl Champion Chiefs

The former Notre Dame punter spent last pre-season with the Chargers but was cut after their four pre-season games.  Newsome averaged 42.1 yards per punt in his seven punts last pre-season. 

Perhaps there hasn’t been a more noticeable haircut at Notre Dame since Jeff Samardzija’s mane was busy catching touchdown passes from Brady Quinn.

Former Notre Dame punter and a bit of a Fighting Irish folk hero, Tyler Newsome was announced to have officially signed a deal with the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs on Monday.

The former Notre Dame punter spent last pre-season with the Chargers but was cut after their four pre-season games.  Newsome averaged 42.1 yards per punt in his seven punts last pre-season.  In Kansas City he’ll have to compete for a roster spot with veteran Dustin Colquitt who is set to make $1.95 million dollars in 2020.

Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Newsome gets remembered for his haircut that Billy Ray Cyrus would have probably been jealous of in 1992 or for his impressive ability to bench press.

However, Newsome was also a fantastic punter during his time at Notre Dame.  He holds several records including the most yards per punt (44.2) in school history and for the highest average punt yardage in a single game, averaging 59.6 yards per punt in Notre Dame’s 2018 win over Vanderbilt.