Saints: With his book on the brink of release, let’s relive Thomas Morstead’s career

Career Achievements

Since his initial 2009 season, Morstead has continually improved his performance for both punting and kickoffs. In his first four seasons in the league, Morstead saw steady improvement in his average yards per punt which eventually peaked at an insane average of 50.1 yards in 2012.

That season, Morstead was a workhorse for the Saints totaling 74 punts and 3707 punting yards over the course of the year. All of these impressive statistics are justifiable reasons for 2012 being the only season that Morstead has been selected to the Pro Bowl.

Over Morstead’s career, he has become the definition of consistency at the punter position. After playing over a decade in the league, he has only missed two regular-season games during 2015, and his average yards per punt are some of the best all-time.

In terms of every punter’s average of all-time, Morstead ranks as the third-highest average with 46.9 yards per punt. The only other current punter who ranks higher than Morstead is Johnny Hekker, whose average is only 0.1 higher than Morstead.

Despite this impressive showcase of leg strength every season, Morstead has only been selected to one Pro Bowl and received two Second-team All-Pro throughout his career. Although he is not recognized as often as he deserves by the NFL, he has earned the trust of his team and the respect of his peers.

In 2016, during the NFC Divisional matchup against the Minnesota Vikings that would become renowned for the Minneapolis Miracle, Morstead tore some cartilage in his ribs and refused to miss a snap. His toughness and sportsmanship inspired even fans of the other team and proved his determination.

In 2018, Morstead signed a five-year extension with the Saints to secure his spot in the Big Easy for years to come and ensuring that New Orleans will have one of the best punters in the game for years to come.

Punters will never receive the spotlight that other positions do on the field, but Morstead has definitely earned the respect of fans across the league and those he lines up with. It’s only right that someone who has had a storybook career would get his own book written after him.