Eagles gearing up for a punter competition in training camp
Ty Zentner might not make the Eagles roster this season but its notable that hes even here at all.
After the 2023 NFL Draft ended, the Eagles signed the undrafted punter out of Kansas State and will give him a chance to beat out incumbent Arryn Siposs this summer. Whether or not hes actually able to do it isnt as important as the Eagles realizing Siposs needs to be pushed.
Because Siposs been the punter for two seasons in Philly and this is the first time hell have to fight for his job with another punter on the roster.
It all goes back down to the competition, Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay said. We felt that Arryn has done some good things when we first got him a couple years ago, but just like in any facet of the NFL, everything is being evaluated, and if we feel as a collective group, myself, Howie (Roseman), Coach (Nick) Sirianni, that we want to bring someone in to push and elevate our group, we’re going to do that. They do a great job of allowing us to voice our opinion in that case.
Everything is production based business, whether it’s myself or the team or the players we have on this team.
If the punter is high atop the list of worries for an NFL team coming off a Super Bowl appearance, things are going pretty well. But its still a minor concern.
Siposs, 30, took over as the Eagles punter in 2021 after Cam Johnston left in free agency. Even with an injury that kept him out of several games last year, Siposs improved in 2022 and was much better than his injury replacement Brett Kern.
Heres a look at Siposss improvement from Year 1 to Year 2:
2021: 43.9 average, 38.7 net, 30.9% inside the 20
2022: 45.6 average, 39.5 net, 36.4% inside the 20
But even after improving in 2022, Siposs was still just average at best he was 26th in punt average and 30th in net average last season. And then there was a disastrous 38-yard punt that was returned 65 yards in Super Bowl LVII. Hard to get over that one.
So how will Siposs react to this competition?
I think Arryn is going to handle it as the professional that he is, Clay said. This is not like something new for Arryn. He’s been a professional back in Australia. It’s not something new. The good thing about it is our room in terms of just the specialists with Rick (Lovato) and Jake (Elliott), they’ve all been in those competitions. Jake was drafted in Cincinnati and he was in a competition. Rick coming in here, bouncing around the league.
The competition aspect of the whole thing is not something new or something foreign for these guys, so everyone understands that every draft class there’s somebody coming in trying to take your job. Just like in anything else in the professional world.
Zentner, 23, was a Ray Guy Award semifinalist in 2022 and was an All-Big 12 second-team selection in 2022. In his college career, he averaged 43.4 yards per punt and averaged 44.5 in 2022. Zentner also served as a field goal kicker in 2022 and kicked off for the Wildcats as well.
That kickoff ability is intriguing for the Eagles, even if it just means they can save Elliotts leg in the preseason.
Clay said the Eagles liked what they saw of Zentner on tape. He pointed out that it isnt easy to kick in the Bill Snyder Family Stadium and there are so electric returners in the Big 12. Clay also pointed out the competitive edge Zentner has.
We’re very fortunate enough that he wasn’t taken in the draft and we had the opportunity to get him in free agency, Clay said. We’re really looking forward to him coming in Monday and joining the veteran guys and being able to go out there to compete and put his best foot forward and hopefully pushes everybody else to have their best foot forward.
Even if he doesnt win the job, maybe Zentner can at least put some pressure on Siposs and make him better. Siposs has a competitive streak as well.
If nothing else, itll be fun to watch a punter competition in training camp. Cant wait to clock hang times.
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