Hottest league news from Thursday, Might 19

The longest-tenured participant on the Baltimore Ravens is hanging up his cleats.

Punter Sam Koch announced his retirement on Thursday following 16 seasons in the NFL. The Ravens formally positioned Koch on the reserve/retired listing, for each the league transaction wire.

Koch, 39, performed his overall profession in Baltimore after being chosen in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of the College of Nebraska. Earning a Professional Bowl nod in 2015, Koch’s 1,168 occupation punts arrived out to an regular of 45.3 yards per punt. Koch also served as the team’s most important holder on subject goal tries and was the kickoff specialist leading up to the Ravens’ championship-successful run to Tremendous Bowl XLVII.

Playing in 256 occupation online games for the Ravens, Koch retires as the franchise’s all-time chief in game titles performed.

“You hardly ever definitely go into it pondering that 1 of your greatest draft picks at any time is likely to be a punter, but in this circumstance it is true,” Ravens standard manager Eric DeCosta mentioned of Koch. “It is a special working day, a celebration of one particular of the very finest Ravens you can expect to at any time see, and I am just happy to have watched him all these a long time.”

A contingency system experienced presently been in place in advance of Koch’s retirement as the Ravens picked Penn State’s Jordan Stout in the 2022 NFL Draft.