NASHVILLE – The Titans have informed veteran punter Brett Kern of the team's plans to release him.
A three-time Pro Bowler, Kern has been one of the team's most popular players since joining the organization back in 2009, when he began putting his name atop the franchise's leaderboards at his position.
"Brett embodies everything we look for in players for the Tennessee Titans," Titans GM Jon Robinson said in a statement. "He has been at the top of his game for a long time in this league, has been an outstanding leader for us, and has been an excellent representation of the Titans in our community. I'm blessed to have worked with him, and on behalf of the entire organization, we wish him all the best moving forward."
Kern is the organization's all-time leading punter, with 923 career punts.
He's also the team's all-time career leader in gross punting average (45.9 yards), net punting average (40.8) and punts placed inside the 20 (373). Kern owns the top nine net punting seasons in franchise history and six of the team's top eight gross punting seasons.
With 197 career games with the Titans, Kern ranks fourth in franchise history behind Bruce Matthews (296), Elvin Bethea (210) and Brad Hopkins (194). Kern's total is the most for any player during the franchise's "Titans era" (since 1999).
With 13 seasons played in a Titans uniform, Kern tied Brad Hopkins for the third-most in team history, trailing only Matthews (19) and Bethea (16). Kern is one of two players (Derrick Morgan) who has played for every head coach the Titans have had since the move to Tennessee.
Prior to Kern's arrival, no punter for the organization had averaged 40.0 net punting yards in a season. Kern produced seven such seasons with the Titans.
Since he entered the NFL with the Broncos in 2008, Kern's career statistics include 996 punts, a 45.9-yard average, a 40.5 net average and 395 punts placed inside the 20. Only Andy Lee (1,010) and Sam Koch (1,004) have recorded more punts than Kern during that span.
Kern served as a captain in each of the past two seasons.
The Titans plan to go with punter Ryan Stonehouse on the 53-man roster. Stonehouse, signed as an undrafted free agent out of Colorado State, averaged 50.2 yards, with a 41.3-yard net, on his 13 punts during the preseason while placing six of them inside the 20.
All NFL teams must be down to 53 players by Tuesday at 3 p.m.
