“That’s not a knock on him or anybody else I’ve competed against. I’m certainly aware of how he’s punting in practice, but, at the end of the day, I know that if I’m doing the things that I’m capable of doing consistently, it doesn’t really matter. So, I certainly have to outperform him in almost every way, and that’ll be the case for the rest of my career, and that’s great. “If Tommy can show that he’s a promising player and show that he can be consistently a good punter, any team’s gonna keep a rookie that shows that because they’re cheap and young, and you can build around that. “I’m not really competing with anybody,” he said. A battle is something that Morstead understands and welcomes, especially at this point in his career, but he doesn’t necessarily view it as a competition. This offseason, the Dolphins signed undrafted punter Tommy Heatherly to participate in a camp battle with the veteran for the job. Morstead won that as well, as Gillikin was placed on injured reserve before eventually claiming the job in 2021 after Morstead’s release in March. Then, it wasn’t until 2020, his final year with New Orleans, that he would battle again, this time with Blake Gillikin. This year’s training camp presents Morstead with a challenge that he’s only taken on twice in the past – compete for his job.Īs a rookie in 2009, he was tasked with beating out veteran punter Glenn Pakulak, who had a decent season with the Saints in 2008, and he did just that. Being counted on by your teammates and by an organization in big moments, there’s nothing like it… If I feel like I’m better than the average guy in the league and can add value to a team, then I’m excited about that.” “I guess if I just look myself in the mirror one day and just don’t want to do it anymore, if I’m not excited about it, I’ll just have to be honest with myself about that… I love the training and the grind of the season. Their old enough where they kind of know what’s going on now which is really cool. It’s an awesome opportunity for me to demonstrate professional excellence for my kids. We get very well compensated to play a kid’s game, and I just love doing all the aspects of what it takes to be great. “Well was like in my first for years,” he said. What more is there to do as a professional punter? He’s won a Super Bowl, been named a Second-team All-Pro and played in a Pro Bowl. In a new system, 14 years into his career, Morstead is still looking at the challenges of the NFL the same way. So I just keep after it…Obviously, I think it’s been a huge reason for my success.” “I guess I never trained like that…The ball started going farther and higher, and it just felt like a direct correlation. “Once I got into a college program four days a week, it kind of shocked my system,” Morstead said. It’s that physical part of his game that helped him get to this level, and it’s not something he plans on stopping. There were just a lot of things about it that were exciting to me.”ĭuring his limited time away from the football field, he spends as much time as he can with his family or working out. It’s a nice place to play, and to be a part of a new coaching staff that’s trying to build its identity and culture, I don’t know. I felt like the team has a good shot to have a good team. “I made it clear that I didn’t want the finances to be an impediment to me coming here. “I just made it clear what I was wanting to play for, and I don’t think they thought that was the case,” Morstead told me. Luckily for both sides, a deal was rather easy to come by. Now, after signing a one-year deal this offseason worth $1.27 million, he’s coming to South Florida to play his home games at Hard Rock Stadium, where he once helped the Saints win a Super Bowl over the Indianapolis Colts as a rookie. Still, last season, at 35 years old, he averaged 47.2 yards and 42 net yards per attempt. The former SMU Mustang spent 12 seasons as a member of the New Orleans Saints, and his 2021 season was split between the New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons for seven games a piece. 14 years into his NFL career, Miami Dolphins punter Thomas Morstead is accustomed to life as a professional football player.
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