Former Notre Dame punter Tyler Newsome signs with Super Bowl Champs

Former Notre Dame punter Tyler Newsome has agreed to a one-year contract with the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs to provide competition.

Notre Dame football fans likely recall the days of Irish football with Tyler Newsome as their punter with great fondness. Armed with a sick flowing mullet and a howitzer for a right leg Newsome was a special teams weapon.

Newsome is one of the better punters in a storied Notre Dame football history, after averaging 44 yards per punt in his collegiate career.  Overall, Newsome would amass over 9,900 punt yards in his Notre Dame career. In addition to a solid college career, he wowed NFL scouts last year at the combine when he had 30 reps of 225-pounds in the bench press event, an impressive feat for any player, especially a punter.

Many believed that Newsome would land on an NFL roster as a starting punter given the success that he had at South Bend. However, after not being drafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, Newsome was signed by the Los Angeles Chargers, joining former Notre Dame teammates Jerry Tillery, Drue Tranquill, and Isaac Rochell on the roster. However, despite a solid preseason, Newsome was cut by the Chargers prior to the start of the 2020 season and was not signed by another NFL team.

Kansas City is believed to have brought Newsome in to compete against their longest-tenured player and incumbent punter, 38-year-old Dustin Colquitt. Colquitt is currently under contract for $2.65 million in 2020, so if Newsome can perform on par with the veteran, he may represent a solid option to replace Colquitt at a more reasonable price tag.

Even if Newsome isn’t able to crack the 53-man roster with the defending Super Bowl Champion Chiefs, the signing represents a legitimate opportunity to showcase his skills for other NFL teams in hopes of being picked up after the preseason.

Regardless of what happens, I think I speak for most Notre Dame fans in saying that we would love the opportunity to see someone of Newsome’s character and skill set play on Sundays in the National Football League.