The Dolphins and punter Ryan Stonehouse agreed to terms on a contract that will bring the NFL's record-holder for highest punting average in a single season (53.1 yards) to Miami. Stonehouse landed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent, totaling 216 punts over three seasons.
Hitting bombs
Five years and 244 punts for Stonehouse at Colorado State produced the highest yards per punt average (47.8) in Mountain West history. After a stellar college career, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans in 2022.
As a rookie, Stonehouse broke the NFL record with a 53.1 punting average. He followed up that performance in 2023 by posting the exact same statistic. Stonehouse finished more than two yards clear of the second-place punter each of those years. His 2023 season ended when a rusher collided with his kicking leg, resulting in a broken leg, torn ACL and MCL.
Stonehouse was back in the saddle for the 2024 season kicking in all 17 games. He finished third in punting average at 50.6 yards per boot.
Craig Aukerman reunion
The Dolphins announced the hiring of Special Teams Coordinator Craig Aukerman last month. Aukerman was part of the scouting process that brought Stonehouse to the Titans.
"He's got a big-time leg," Aukerman said of Stonehouse back in a 2022 press conference. "That was one of the things that attracted us when he was at Colorado State. He has really focused in on the little things that we wanted him to work on."
Flipping the field
Stonehouse's long punt every season is nearly identical. He topped his previous long of 74 yards (set in both 2022 and 2023) with a 75-yard punt in 2024. Think of it this way: if the Titans went 3-and-out at their own 25-yard-line, Stonehouse had the leg to occasionally power it through the back of the end zone and give Tennessee a 55-yard net punt without the threat of return.
Even with the ability to kick it to the end zone from almost anywhere, Stonehouse has only 26 touchbacks on 216 career punts. That's because 80 of his career punts have been downed inside the 20-yard-line, a 37 percent average.
For more information on Stonehouse, and the entire Dolphins 2025 free agency class, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
