Welcome to the Time Machine! The Throwback Thursday feature that allows you to swap current players with former players. Today’s edition is for punters.
You can either choose to keep the current player that holds the roster spot, or you can fire up the flux capacitor and travel back in time in the Redskins Commandelorean, and pick up one of three players that played that position at some point.
You can also vote for what player you would choose on our Twitter account.
The current Washington punter is Tress Way. He has led the NFL in punts per yard average twice in his eight year career (2014,2019).
The three players available to you are:
Matt Turk | Mike Bragg | Sammy Baugh
Here is a little bit of information about each player:
Matt Turk
Turk was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1993, after playing college football at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater.
He came to Washington in 1995, and in five seasons as a Redskin, was selected for the Pro Bowl three times (1996,1997,1998)! Turk would go on to play an impressive 17 seasons with six different teams, but would not make it back to the Pro Bowl.
He played in 244 career games – including 78 for Washington – and booted 48,414 career punt yards. His career average was 42.4 yards, but it was 43.8 yards as a Redskin. He had a career long of 77 yards, but 69 yards was his longest in Washington.
Mike Bragg
Bragg was drafted by Washington in the 5th Round (117th overall) of the 1968 Draft out of the University of Richmond.
He played 12 of his 13 seasons for Washington before playing one last season for the Baltimore Colts in 1980.
He played in 188 games – including 172 for Washington – and kicked almost 39,000 NFL yards (38,949). His career average was 39.8 yards, and his career long was 74 yards (1979). He was often referred to as the “King of the Coffin Corner,” referring to his ability to pin the opposing team deep in their own territory.
He is a member of the Redskins Ring Of Honor. Interestingly, he was the last active player in the NFL that had played for the great Vince Lombardi.
Sammy Baugh
Many people know that Baugh was one of the most heralded quarterbacks in football history, but not everybody knows that he was also a safety and a punter. A two-time All American at Texas Christian University, he was drafted by Washington in the first round (6th overall) of the 1937 Draft.
He played all of his 15 NFL seasons for Washington and was the league leader in punt average five different seasons (1940,1941,1942,1943,1945). He also had the longest punt in five consecutive seasons (1940-1945). He set an NFL record in 1940 with the highest average yards per punt in a season, with an astounding 51.4 yards – a record that still stands today.
In total, he played 167 NFL games, but didn’t punt much in his last 6 seasons. He kicked a total of 15,245 career yards with a long of 85 yards, and a career average of 45.1 yards
Baugh was a 4 time First Team All Pro, a 4 time Second Team All Pro, and was selected for six Pro Bowls. Obviously his quarterback numbers had a lot to do with those awards too.
Summary
So who are you picking up in the Commandelorean? Or are you keeping the incomparable Tress Way. Make sure you visit our Twitter account, and voice an opinion.