Where does Tress Way rank in the hierarchy of punters?

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June 9, 2025

by Steve Thomas

Listen, folks, it’s June, which is the slowest month of the NFL calendar by far, so if you’re going to get a punting column out of me, now is the time.  All Washington fans love Tress Way, and with good reason.  We’ve had him as a guest on The Hog Sty Podcast – he’s a decent guy and an awesome punter.  What recently went through my head, though, is where Tress Way ranks amongst (1) all Washington punters, (2) all active NFL punters, and (3) all punters in NFL history.  Come on . . . you know you’ve thought about this just like I have.  Let’s jump right in and find out.

Way originally entered the NFL when he was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Oklahoma in 2014.  The Bears cut him in training camp, and he’s been with Washington ever since.  Way has played in a total of 176 games in his career and has never missed a game due to injury.  He missed one game in 2021 due to Covid.  In total, Way has made 776 punts for 36,380 gross yards, for an average of 46.9 gross yards per punt.  He’s only had 3 punts blocked in his career, the most recent being in 2023.  Way was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2019 and 2022, and earned Second-team All-Pro honors in 2019.

Washington punters

Tress Way is the leading punter in Washington Redskins Washington Football Team Washington Commanders Washington history, by almost every measure.  The only other punter who is even in the discussion is Mike Bragg, who played 172 games for the Redskins from 1968 to 1969.  Bragg is the only player to have made more punts for Washington than Way, with 889; however, Bragg is behind Way in every other category.  Bragg had a total of 35,746 gross punting yards for Washington, for an average of 39.9 gross yards per punt.

The only other Washington punter in the conversation from a total yardage and number of punts standpoint is Matt Turk, who was with the Redskins from 1995 to 1999.  During that time, Turk had 388 punts in 78 games for 16,981 yards, for an average of 43.8 gross yards per punt.

In terms of gross yards per punt, Way is ranked first in team history.  The following are the next five in team history:

  • Sam Baker: 48 punts in 1958, 45.4 gross yards per punt
  • Reggie Roby: 160 punts from 1993 – 1994, 44.3 gross yards per punt
  • Tom Tupa: 103 punts in 2004, 44.1 gross yards per punt
  • Turk: 388 punts from 1995 – 1999, 43.8 yards per punt

Only three Washington punters have ever made a Pro Bowl: Way, Roby, and Turk.

Active punters

Way is ranked fourth amongst active punters in total number of career punts:

  • Johnny Hekker: 963 punts for Carolina and the Rams from 2012 to 2024
  • Thomas Morstead: 960 punts for Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, and the Jets from 2009 to 2024
  • Bryan Anger: 890 punts for Dallas, Houston, Jacksonville, and Tampa Bay from 2012 to 2024

Next behind Way is Sam Martin, who has made 755 punts for Buffalo, Denver, and Detroit from 2013 to 2024.

Note that, of these players, Way is the only one who has played for only one team.

Way is also fourth amongst active kickers as measured by total gross punting yardage, behind Hekker with 45,052, Morstead with 44,944, and Anger with 41,794.  Way is farther down the list as measured by gross yards per punt – he’s 11th amongst active punters with more than 200 career punts, 6th amongst active punters with more than 400 career punts, and 18th amongst all active punters.  Tennessee’s Ryan Stonehouse is first with 52.2 gross yards per punt, followed by Tampa Bay’s Jake Camarda and Cincinnati’s Ryan Rehkow with 49.1, and Kansas City’s Matt Araiza and Detroit’s Jack Fox with 48.8.

Overall, amongst the punters who have been in the league for roughly as long or longer than Way, the top five in terms of overall career production are Hekker, Morstead, Anger, Way, and Martin, in no particular order, followed by everyone else.  So let’s put Way roughly in the top 5 of active NFL punters.

All punters in NFL history

Jeff Feagles, who played from 1988 to 2009 for the Falcons, Patriots, Giants, Eagles, and Seahawks, is the top punter in NFL history as measured by games played, number of punts, and total gross yardage, at 352 games, 1788 punts and 71,211 yards, respectively.

Seattle’s current kicker, Michael Dickson, who’s been with Seatle since 2018, is the top kicker in NFL history at gross yards per punt for punters with over 400 career punts.  By this measurement, Way is 7th in NFL history, behind the following:

  • Dickson
  • Shane Lechler, Texans and Raiders, 2000 – 2017, 47.6
  • Logan Cooke, Jacksonville, 2018 – 2024, 47.4
  • Corey Bojorquez, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Green Bay, 2018 – 2024, 47.3
  • Cameron Johnston, Texans, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, 2018 – 2024, 47.3
  • Bryan Anger, Dallas, Texans, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, 2012 – 2024, 47.0

Interestingly, 6 of 7, including Way, are active kickers, and the only one who isn’t – Lechler – retired in 2017.  The first player on this list who retired before 2000 is Don Chandler, who played for the Packers and Giants from 1956 to 1966.

Removing the 400 career punts requirement puts Tennessee’s Stonehouse in the lead all-time, at 52.2.  By this criteria, Way is 18th.  Once again, all of these punters are active.

It’s very interesting that essentially zero punters from an earlier age are anywhere near the top of the gross yards per punt list.  Clearly, training programs have gotten much better over the past 20 years.  I’m not aware of any serious technological advances for punters.  We seem to be living in the golden age of NFL punters.

The big-picture point here, in terms of all-time NFL punting statistics, is that Way is at least in the picture as one of the NFL’s better punters.  Way is now 36 years old, so while he’ll obviously continue to make punts and gain gross yardage, it’s unlikely that he’s going to get better at the gross yards per punt measurement.

One thing’s for sure: Tress Way is clearly the most accomplished punter in Washington history.

Bonus: games played

Since I mentioned above that Tress Way had played in 179 games for Washington, the thought occurred to me that he’s probably pretty high up on the team’s list by this statistic.  As it turns out, Way is 10th in franchise history in total games played.  Here’s the list:

In looking just at games started, the top five are Green with 258, followed by Hauss with 194, Warren with 181, Butz with 180, and Monk with 178.  Technically, the punter isn’t counted as a “starter” for statistical purposes, so Way isn’t on this list.

What do you think about Tress Way’s place in punting history?  Let me know in the comment section below.

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