Todd Sauerbrun
| Denver Broncos — No. 10 | |
| Punter | |
| Date of Birth: January 4 1973 | |
Place of Birth: Setauket, New York  |
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| Height: ft in ( m) | Weight: lb ( kg) |
| National Football League Debut | |
|---|---|
| 1995 for the Chicago Bears | |
| Career Highlights and Awards | |
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| Career History | |
| College: West Virginia | |
| NFL Draft: 1995 / Round: 2 / Pick: 56 | |
Teams:
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| Stats at NFL.com | |
Todd Scott Sauerbrun (born January 4, 1973 in Setauket, New York) is an American football punter in the National Football League who currently plays for the Denver Broncos.
High School Years
Todd Sauerbrun attended Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, New York, and was a letterman in football and lacrosse. In football, as a senior, he averaged 45.1 yards per punt and kicked a field goal of 63 yards on October 27, 1990 (still the New York State High School record). In lacrosse, he was a third team All-America selection.
College and Early Pro Career
Sauerbrun made history when he enrolled at West Virginia University, after being one of the nation's top prep placekickers. Sauerbrun played punter at West Virginia, where he set a NCAA record with a 48.4 punting average in 1994. He was also named the school’s sixth consensus All-American that season.
He was drafted by the Chicago Bears 56th overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. He spent five seasons with the Bears, and is ranked second on the team in all-time punting average. He spent the 2000 season with the Kansas City Chiefs, and was signed by the Carolina Panthers before the 2001 season.
2002-Dec 2004
Carolina is where Sauerbrun achieved his greatest success, as well as his biggest problems. He was picked for the
Pro Bowl to represent the NFC in the
2002,
Post-Dec 2004
In December 2004, he was charged with DWI, and he was recently named in an investigation of steroids use in the NFL linked to a Carolina doctor during the 2004-05 season. Sauerbrun has also been known for his long-standing feud with the Gramatica brothers, who are placekickers in the NFL, and it was why he was forced to be Carolina's kicker when Kasay got injured, as he refused to allow the Panthers to bring them in for tryouts. On May 19, 2005, Sauerbrun was traded to the Denver Broncos for punter Jason Baker and a 7th round draft pick in the 2006 draft. On July 7, 2006, Sauerbrun was suspended for the first four games of the NFL season after testing positive for the banned supplement ephedra. On October 17, 2006, the day he was supposed to come back from his suspension, Denver cut him, favoring Paul Ernster.
One of Todd Sauerbrun's most notable NFL career moments so far occurred during the AFC Divisional Playoffs on January 14, 2006, when, in a rare move for a team punter, he managed to tackle New England Patriots returner Ellis Hobbs after his own kickoff and actually forced a fumble, which was recovered by his teammate, Cecil Sapp. This eventually led to a Broncos field goal, which helped Denver defeat the Patriots 27-13, ending New England's bid for an unprecedented three consecutive Super Bowl victories.
Sauerbrun was signed by the Patriots on December 22, 2006 to a one year contract that gave them the right to match any contract he signed the next offseason.
On April 3, 2007, the Denver Broncos signed Sauerbrun to a one year contract. However, a week later, the Patriots announced their decision to match Denver's offer to the veteran punter.[1] Shortly thereafter, the NFL Players Association filed a grievance on behalf of Sauerbrun regarding the details of the contract he signed with New England in 2006. On April 18th, 2007, it was announced that Sauerbrun would once again be a free agent. Sauerbrun resigned with the Denver Broncos on April 19, 2007. [2]
References
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