Matt Turk

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For the singer/songwriter, see Matt Turk (musician).

Matt Turk
File:Matt Turk.JPG
Turk in 2010
No. 1
PositionPunter
Personal information
Born (1968-06-16) June 16, 1968 (age 58)
Greenfield, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight251 lb (114 kg)
Career information
High schoolGreenfield
CollegeUW–Whitewater (1988–1990)
NFL draft1993: undrafted
Career history
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Awards and highlights
Career NFL statistics
Punts1,143
Punt yards48,414
Average42.8
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Coaching profile at Pro Football ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
File:Matt Turk punt Texans vs Cowboys.jpg
Turk punting in 2010

Matthew Edward Turk (born June 16, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL).[1] He was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1993. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Turk was also a member of the Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, St. Louis Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans. He is the 2nd tallest punter in NFL history (tied with 2 others).[2]

Early years

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Turk graduated from Greenfield High School in his birthplace of Greenfield, Wisconsin in 1986.[3]

Matt played college football for the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater and graduated with a degree in elementary education in 1993. With the Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks, Turk averaged 36.3 yards per punt. The Warhawks won the Wisconsin State University Conference Championship in 1990 season.[4] Turk also played the tight end position at UWW.[5]

Professional career

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Turk played semi-pro football for the Racine Raiders before entering the NFL. He signed with the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams in 1993 and 1994 respectively, but did not make the final roster on either team.

Washington Redskins

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On April 5, 1995, the Washington Redskins signed Turk, and for the first time in his career, he made an NFL roster. In 1996 he was named a First Team All-Pro, the last time a Washington player of any position has received that honor until guard Brandon Scherff was honored in 2021.[6] He stayed on the team until they traded Turk to the Miami Dolphins on March 9, 2000. He was traded because of a strained relationship with owner Dan Snyder over a finger injury he had that caused him to miss a game. He also was upset because there was a report that he got injured in a basketball game (although that was later proven false after it was discovered that he was misdiagnosed.) Turk said he "wasn't surprised" and the Redskins "did him a favor" by trading him.[7]

Miami Dolphins

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Turk played for the Dolphins for 2 seasons (2000–2001).

New York Jets

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On April 23, 2002, Turk signed with the New York Jets. On March 7, he was released.

Return to Dolphins

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After a poor performance by Mark Royals, Turk was re-signed by the Dolphins on September 29, 2003. After having a visit with the Green Bay Packers (the first team he signed with his career),[8] he ultimately re-signed with the Dolphins on March 23, 2004.[9] After being placed on Injured Reserve,[10] he was released on October 12, 2005.

Return to Rams

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On April 4, 2006, Turk and the St. Louis Rams agreed to a 1-year deal[11] 12 years after he signed with the team.

Houston Texans

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The Houston Texans signed Matt Turk late in the 2007 offseason to compete with incumbent punter Chad Stanley. He won the job after Chad Stanley was cut on August 31, 2007[12] After ranking 2nd in punts inside the 20, he was re-signed for a 2-year, 3.5 million dollar contract on March 19, 2008, the first day he was eligible to sign a free agent contract.[13] On March 9, 2010, his agent David Canter announced he signed a 1-year contract to return to the Texans. He was not re-signed in 2011.

Jacksonville Jaguars

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On July 28, 2011, Turk signed a contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was released October 11 [14] after a terrible game against the Bengals. The fans booed him and he was waving his hands as if he wanted to be booed more.[15]

Return to Texans

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After Brett Hartmann was placed on IR, the Texans re-signed Matt Turk. He said it was a "dream come true" to return to the team.

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Led the league
Bold Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP Punting
Punts Yds Avg Lng Blk
1995 WAS 16 74 3,140 42.4 60 0
1996 WAS 16 75 3,386 45.1 63 0
1997 WAS 16 84 3,788 45.1 62 1
1998 WAS 16 93 4,103 44.1 69 1
1999 WAS 14 62 2,564 41.4 57 0
2000 MIA 16 92 3,870 42.1 70 0
2001 MIA 16 81 3,321 41.0 77 0
2002 NYJ 16 63 2,584 41.0 65 0
2003 MIA 13 68 2,631 38.7 57 0
2004 MIA 16 98 4,088 41.7 67 0
2005 MIA 0 Did not play due to injury
2006 STL 16 72 3,132 43.5 74 1
2007 HOU 16 55 2,296 41.7 59 0
2008 HOU 16 53 2,240 42.3 59 0
2009 HOU 16 67 2,866 42.8 62 0
2010 HOU 16 63 2,650 42.1 60 0
2011 JAX 5 27 1,072 39.7 65 0
HOU 4 16 683 42.7 55 0
Career 244 1,143 48,414 42.4 77 3

Postseason

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Year Team GP Punting
Punts Yds Avg Lng Blk
1999 WAS 2 12 499 41.6 52 0
2000 MIA 2 9 343 38.1 51 0
2001 MIA 1 5 237 47.4 52 0
2002 NYJ 2 4 137 34.3 39 0
2011 HOU 2 10 451 45.1 56 0
Career 9 40 1,667 41.7 56 0

Personal life

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Turk currently lives in Houston, Texas. He has a wife, Stephanie, and his three daughters.[16]

The youngest of six brothers,[17] Matt Turk had a brother who also played in the NFL, Dan Turk, who was a center for 15 seasons; Dan died on December 24, 2000. In his last season, Dan was the long snapper for one of Matt's punts, to become the first brothers to do so.[18]

His nephew, Ben Turk, was the starting punter for the University of Notre Dame for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 seasons.[19] Ben Turk worked out for the Texans' rookie mini camp in the 2013 off season, but didn't sign.[20] Another of Matt's nephews, Michael Turk was a punter for Arizona State, and transferred to Oklahoma in 2021.[21] In April 2023, after going undrafted Michael Turk was signed by one of his uncles former teams, the Miami Dolphins before getting cut.

References

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