Matt Turk
No. 1 | |||||||
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Position: | Punter | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Greenfield, Wisconsin, U.S. | June 16, 1968||||||
Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 251 lb (114 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Greenfield | ||||||
College: | UW–Whitewater (1988–1990) | ||||||
Undrafted: | 1993 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com |
Matthew Edward Turk (born June 16, 1968) is an American former professional
Early years
Turk graduated from Greenfield High School in his birthplace of Greenfield, Wisconsin in 1986.[3]
Matt played
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
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.
NFL career statistics
Legend | |
---|---|
Led the league | |
Bold | Career high |
Regular season
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
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
Turk currently lives in
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
- ^ "Notre Dame's Cowart, Turk enjoy perfect homecoming - Sun Sentinel". Archived from the original on 2013-07-02.
- ^ "Tallest NFL Players At Each Position Throughout History". That One Sports Show. 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
- ^ McGinn, Bob (December 6, 2008). "Turk offers cold logic to Kapinos". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ^ "Football Team Champs (PDF) - Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference" (PDF).
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Washington Football Team offensive guard Scherff makes AP All-Pro First Team". 8 January 2021.
- ^ "Trade Lands Turk From Washington - Sun Sentinel". Archived from the original on 2014-01-09.
- ^ "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.
- ^ HighBeam
- ^ HighBeam
- ^ HighBeam
- ^ "Texans release veteran punter Chad Stanley". 31 August 2007.
- ^ "Texans to re-sign punter Turk". 19 March 2008.
- ^ @taniaganguli (October 11, 2011). "Twitter post" (Tweet) – via Twitter. [dead link]
- ^ Jacksonville [dead link]
- ^ "Justice: Every day like Father's Day for Texans' Turk". 20 June 2010.
- ^ "Matt Turk". Houston Texans. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ^ Duncan, Chris (August 3, 2007). "Texans punter inspired by memory of his brother". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- ^ "Ben Turk". UND. Retrieved Sep 15, 2012.
- ^ "Texans report: 56 players take part in drills". 11 May 2013.
- ^ Turk (28 February 2020). "Michael Turk Combine".