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The Miami Dolphins are adding former Tennessee Titans punter Ryan Stonehouse, according to Justin Melo of The Draft Network.
Stonehouse, who turns 26 in May, spent the first three seasons of his NFL career in Tennessee where he put up record setting numbers. His 53.1 yards per punt in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons are the two highest single-season punting averages in NFL history. While his average dropped to 50.6 yards in 2024, it still ranked 11th best all-time.
But his prolific numbers eventually began to frustrate coaches who felt Stonehouse was out-kicking the Titans' coverage unit.
“Right now it is hurting us,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said in October. “Some of the punts we’ve had, it gets down the field and it goes long down the field, but it doesn’t give us hang up in the air and give us enough time to get down there to cover. Puts us in a tough spot.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Stonehouse finished with an average hangtime of 4.12 seconds per punt in 2024 -- 29th out of the 30 players who punted at least 30 times last season.
The Titans decided to move on from Stonehouse after the 2024 season, opting not to place a tender on the restricted free agent. Now he'll be reunited with Craig Aukerman, who was Tennessee's special teams coordinator until December 2023 and was hired by the Dolphins earlier this year.
Miami has relied on Jake Bailey to handle punting duties for the last two seasons and he's under contract for the 2025 season, although the Dolphins could release the veteran punter and save $1.975 million in salary cap space.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: NFL free agency rumors: Dolphins to sign punter Ryan Stonehouse
Continue reading...
Stonehouse, who turns 26 in May, spent the first three seasons of his NFL career in Tennessee where he put up record setting numbers. His 53.1 yards per punt in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons are the two highest single-season punting averages in NFL history. While his average dropped to 50.6 yards in 2024, it still ranked 11th best all-time.
But his prolific numbers eventually began to frustrate coaches who felt Stonehouse was out-kicking the Titans' coverage unit.
“Right now it is hurting us,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said in October. “Some of the punts we’ve had, it gets down the field and it goes long down the field, but it doesn’t give us hang up in the air and give us enough time to get down there to cover. Puts us in a tough spot.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Stonehouse finished with an average hangtime of 4.12 seconds per punt in 2024 -- 29th out of the 30 players who punted at least 30 times last season.
The Titans decided to move on from Stonehouse after the 2024 season, opting not to place a tender on the restricted free agent. Now he'll be reunited with Craig Aukerman, who was Tennessee's special teams coordinator until December 2023 and was hired by the Dolphins earlier this year.
Miami has relied on Jake Bailey to handle punting duties for the last two seasons and he's under contract for the 2025 season, although the Dolphins could release the veteran punter and save $1.975 million in salary cap space.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: NFL free agency rumors: Dolphins to sign punter Ryan Stonehouse
Continue reading...
