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The Cincinnati Bengals won’t need a new punter this year after re-signing Kevin Huber right after free agency began.
It’s a three-year deal worth $7.95 million, which breaks down to $2.65 million per year. $1.55 million of it is guaranteed, and Huber could earn up to $8.75 million in total with a 2019 roster bonus and performance-based incentives.
Huber received a $1.05 million signing bonus and $500,000 guaranteed roster bonus. Here is a look at the three-year deal, per Over The Cap:
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The Chicago Bears were also interested in Huber, who has spent nine years with the Bengals, missing only two games in that span. He has punted 697 punts for 31,499 yards in that time.
Originally a fifth-round pick by the Bengals (142nd overall) in the 2009 NFL Draft out of Cincinnati, Huber is a life-long Cincinnati resident, as he attended high school at Archbishop McNicholas in Cincinnati.
This past season, Huber finished 11th in punting average (46.6), 15th in percentage of punts inside the opponents 20 yard line (36%), 27th for percentage of punts inside the opponents 10 yard line (8%), and 24th best for making punts unreturnable (45% of his punts were returned).
While 2017 wa a struggle for the Bengals’ special teams, Huber has been a very reliable punter during his career in Cincinnati. The Bengals were smart to keep Huber in stripes. He’s proven to be a valuable member of the special teams at times, so here’s to hoping he gets back to that in 2018.