Matt Turk
refer to caption
Turk in 2010
No. 1
Position:Punter
Personal information
Born: (1968-06-16) June 16, 1968
Greenfield, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:251 lb (114 kg)
Career information
High school:Greenfield
College:UW–Whitewater
Undrafted:1993
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Punts:1,143
Punt yards:48,414
Average:42.8
Player stats at NFL.com
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 has also been 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

Turk graduated Greenfield High School in his birthplace 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

Turk played 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

On April 5, 1995, the Washington Redskins signed Turk. 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

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

New York Jets

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

Return to Dolphins

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

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

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

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

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.

Personal life

Turk currently lives in Houston, Texas. He has a wife, Stephanie, and his 3 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.

References

  1. ↑ "Notre Dame's Cowart, Turk enjoy perfect homecoming - Sun Sentinel". Archived from the original on 2013-07-02.
  2. ↑ "Tallest NFL Players At Each Position Throughout History". That One Sports Show. 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  3. ↑ McGinn, Bob (December 6, 2008). "Turk offers cold logic to Kapinos". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Football Team Champs (PDF) - Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference" (PDF).
  5. ↑ "Derek Stanley joins another former Warhawk in Saint Louis". Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks. May 1, 2007. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Washington Football Team offensive guard Scherff makes AP All-Pro First Team". 8 January 2021.
  7. ↑ "Trade Lands Turk From Washington - Sun Sentinel". Archived from the original on 2014-01-09.
  8. ↑ "BIDWELL, PACKERS SEVER TIES THE PUNTER TURNS DOWN AN OFFER TO SIGN WITH THE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS.(SPORTS) - The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI) | HighBeam Research". 10 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-06-10. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  9. ↑ HighBeam
  10. ↑ HighBeam
  11. ↑ HighBeam
  12. ↑ "Texans release veteran punter Chad Stanley". 31 August 2007.
  13. ↑ "Texans to re-sign punter Turk". 19 March 2008.
  14. ↑ @taniaganguli (October 11, 2011). "Twitter post" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ↑ Jacksonville
  16. ↑ "Justice: Every day like Father's Day for Texans' Turk". 20 June 2010.
  17. ↑ "Matt Turk". Houston Texans. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  18. ↑ Duncan, Chris (August 3, 2007). "Texans punter inspired by memory of his brother". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Ben Turk". UND. Retrieved Sep 15, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Texans report: 56 players take part in drills". 11 May 2013.
  21. ↑ Turk (28 February 2020). "Michael Turk Combine".
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