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Cincinnati Bengals waive veteran punter Kevin Huber

The Cincinnati Bengals released veteran punter Kevin Huber on Monday afternoon.

Huber, a Cincinnati native, spent 14 years with the franchise as the starting punter. He is the Bengals’ career leader in every major statistical category for punting, including total punts (1011), punting yards (45,766), gross average (45.27), net average (40.34) and punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line (346).

“Kevin was our punter for a very long time,” said Bengals president Mike Brown. “We appreciated every moment he was here. He has been a steadying force for us, an excellent player and a good person. Any football team would be blessed to have him for the length of time we did.”

Huber attended McNicholas High School and then continued his career at the University of Cincinnati before being selected by the Bengals in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

Cincinnati Bengals punter Kevin Huber during a Week 1 NFL game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Cincinnati Bengals punter Kevin Huber during a Week 1 NFL game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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All signs pointed to this being the final year of Huber’s professional career in Cincinnati. Heading into the season, he competed with Drue Chrisman for the starting job. Special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons said Chrisman wasn’t ready at the time they needed to make the decision so the team opted to go with Huber and stash Chrisman on the practice squad.

As the season got underway, Huber’s punting wasn’t at the level the team needed it to be. On 31 punts this season, Huber's average was 43.2 yards per punt and his net yards per punt was 37.4. Head coach Zac Taylor and Simmons made the change to start Chrisman over Huber against the Steelers in the Bengals’ first game post-bye. Chrisman has given the Bengals a boost in the punting game and looks to be Cincinnati’s future at punter. He is averaging 51.2 yards on nine punts so far since being named the starting punter.

“Kevin’s been such a big part of this organization and this city for such a long time,” Taylor said when announcing the roster move. “We’re appreciative of the time he gave us and the job that he did. Now, it’s time to move on to Drue. But Kevin had a great run here and we appreciate that. ”The Bengals have not ruled out if Huber will return on the practice squad this season. By releasing him, it gives him a chance to potentially find a fit with another team. If he doesn’t land anywhere and wants to keep playing, he could come back if the team wants him too. Simmons said Huber would be a great resource for Chrisman if he was around, he wouldn’t be looked at as a distraction.

“I’m very fortunate to have been a part of his time here as our starting punter,” Simmons said of Huber. “In addition to being a good player, he’s like a coach on the field. I felt like he was an extension of me on the field. He was always very situationally aware of what we wanted to do in a game. His experience and his time here is something I’ll always cherish.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kevin Huber, Cincinnati Bengals punter, waived after 14 seasons