NASHVILLE, TN, March 6, 2009 – The Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms on a contract with unrestricted free agent punter Craig Hentrich, allowing the team's all-time leading punter to return for his 16th NFL season and 12th with the Titans. !
Craig Hentrich will return for his 16th NFL season, including his 12th with the Titans, after agreeing to terms on a new contract.
"Craig has been such a valuable player for us in so many ways during his time here and we are pleased to be able to agree on a contract with him for another year," said Titans general manager Mike Reinfeldt.
Hentrich's 852 punts in 175 games in an Oilers/Titans uniform rank first in club annals, and his gross average with the team of 42.8 yards ranks second behind Greg Montgomery (43.6). Only three players in team history – Bruce Matthews, Elvin Bethea and Brad Hopkins – have appeared in more games than Hentrich.
Including his four-year total with the Green Bay Packers at the start of his career, Hentrich's 1,141 career punts are tied (Rohn Stark) for seventh place in NFL history and rank second among all active players (Jeff Feagles, 1,649). One of the league's top specialists in terms of ball placement, Hentrich's career 36.8-yard net average ranks 10th in the NFL in the 33 seasons the statistic has been tracked. Likewise, his total of 34.7 percent of punts placed inside the 20 ranks second in the league since 1976. In the Divisional Playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 10, Hentrich became the second player in NFL history (Ray Guy, 111) to reach 100 postseason punts (101).
In 2008, Hentrich punted 87 times for 3,725 yards, a 42.8-yard average with a net of 36.5. He placed 27 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
Hentrich, 37, was an unrestricted free agent acquisition in 1998. Prior to spending the 1993 season on Green Bay's practice squad and the 1994-97 seasons on the Packers' active roster, he was originally selected by the New York Jets in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft.
