How Brett Kern went from Tennessee Titans castoff to cusp of Super Bowl glory

An undrafted rookie with a cannon of a leg spurred an unexpected end to Brett Kern’s 13-year tenure with the Tennessee Titans, leaving the veteran punter with little to do but sit around and wait.

In Year 15 of his career — Kern played two seasons with the Denver Broncos before heading to Tennessee — he almost didn’t expect another call. But a call did come, from the Philadelphia Eagles, after four months of waiting.

With the Titans, Kern outlasted four head coaches, seven starting quarterbacks, seven offensive coordinators and six defensive coordinators. But he never reached the Super Bowl.

After just over a month with the Eagles, Kern might not have wait anymore. With Philadelphia’s 31-7 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship, Kern might make his first Super Bowl appearance in his 15-year career when the Eagles face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET, Fox).

“It feels great going from what happened after preseason to just kind of waiting week by week, just kind of staying in shape, staying ready,” Kern said after the NFC championship. “I just really didn't know who's going to call or if I was going to get a call.”

Kern seemed like a lock to make his first Super Bowl appearance before Philadelphia activated the practice window for Arryn Siposs last week. Siposs suffered a serious ankle injury Dec. 11, creating space for Kern's call-up. But while Siposs declared himself "ready to go," it wasn't clear entering Super Bowl week whether the Eagles would take Siposs or Kern on the active roster with a championship at stake.

"I’m going out there to prepare to play and that’s all there is to it," Siposs said, according to NBC Sports.

Whether Siposs is back to to pre-injury form, when he was one of the best punters in the NFL, remains to be seen. If he's not, it opens the door for a remarkable end to the season for Kern.

Kern’s replacement in Tennessee, Ryan Stonehouse — who, at 23, is 13 years younger than Kern — joined the Titans during preseason after going undrafted. The rookie quickly won the position battle, and the Titans cut Kern on Aug. 29. He spent the next four months waiting and wondering.

In 13 years with the Titans, Kern came close to the Super Bowl once: 2019. After nine regular season victories and two in the playoffs, the 2019 Titans had recorded their most wins since 2008, and they headed to the AFC championship for the first time since 2002.

But with a 35-24 loss to the Chiefs, Kern kept waiting.

“When it takes you 15 years — I remember [with] the Titans it took me 10 years just to get a playoff game — you’re really soaking in that moment in,” Kern said. “So just to be here celebrating with the guys — I’m just soaking it all in.”

In hindsight, the move to Philadelphia seems obvious. But at the time, Kern’s decision wasn’t so obvious.

His father went on a local New York radio station to say that his son would actually stand to lose money by playing elsewhere because of the circumstances of his exit from Tennessee. Kern also reportedly didn't want to be away from his wife and three kids in the Nashville area for a full season.

“Any time you get a chance to get a call from a team that's, you know, at the time just needs one more win to get the No. 1 seed, … it’s a no-brainer,” Kern said.

It helped that Kern already knew some of the Eagles’ staff from his days with the Titans, and he knew Eagles coach Nick Sirianni from playing against him when Sirianni was the offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts from 2018-20.

It also helped that Kern's wife, Tiffany, and his son Bryce attended most of the Eagles’ games since December. Tiffany and all three children were in attendance at the NFC championship.

So while Siposs' practice activation makes Kern's future uncertain, there's not much he would change.

He could have earned more money by staying in Tennessee, but instead he chased the one thing that has eluded him during his career:

“It's an opportunity to finish the season off with the chance to win a Super Bowl,” Kern said.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Brett Kern went from Titans castoff to cusp of Super Bowl glory