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New York Jets sign former South Carolina football punter Kai Kroeger
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- New York Jets sign former South Carolina football punter Kai Kroeger
After not being selected in the 2025 NFL Draft and getting seven NFL minicamp invites, South Carolina football punter Kai Kroeger was signed by the New York Jets , the team announced on May 13.
In addition to signing Kroeger, the Jets released veteran punter Thomas Morstead , who had been the starter the last two seasons. Morstead has been in the NFL since 2009 and played his first 12 seasons for the New Orleans Saints .
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The 6-foot-4, 213-pound Kroeger spent five seasons as South Carolina's starter and averaged 44.6 yards per punt, which is the second most in school history.
Kroeger and Austin McNamara , who the Jets signed in March, are the only two punters on the roster. McNamara was 2024 undrafted free agent who signed with the Cincinnati Bengals before getting waived last summer.
Kroeger had a remarkable season in 2022, highlighted by the Clemson game. He had a 63-yard punt that landed just inside the 5-yard line late in the fourth quarter, with South Carolina up 31-30. He averaged 53.7 yards on seven punts in the game with three inside the 5-yard line.
He was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week six times during his career. Kroeger had 68 punts travel 50 plus yards, 100 punts spotted inside the 20. He is second in SEC history with 11,823 punting yards.
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In 2024, he averaged a career-best 47.8-yards per punt which ranked third in the nation.
Kai Kroeger's stats with South Carolina football
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2024: 47.8 yards per punt, 2,248 total yards, 2,128 net yards, 18 punts inside the 20 (38.3%)
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2023: 43.2 yards per punt, 2,248 total yards, 2,596 net yards, 22 punts inside the 20 (35.5%)
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2022: 46.1 yards per punt, 2,675 total yards, 2,575 net yards, 29 punts inside the 20 (50%)
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2021: 42.9 yards per punt, 2,534 total yards, 2,494 net yards, 22 punts inside the 20 (37.3%)
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2020: 43.3 yards per punt, 1,690 yards, eight inside the 20 (20.5%)
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: New York Jets sign former South Carolina punter Kai Kroeger
