Todd Sauerbrun
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| Todd Sauerbrun | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | January 4, 1973 (age 34) |
| Place of birth |  Setauket, New York |
| Position(s) | Punter |
| College | West Virginia |
| NFL Draft | 1995 / Round 2/ Pick 56 |
| Pro Bowls | 2002, 2003, 2004 |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 1995-1999 2000 2001-2004 2005-2006 2006 2007-current |
Chicago Bears Kansas City Chiefs Carolina Panthers Denver Broncos New England Patriots Denver Broncos |
Todd Scott Sauerbrun (born January 4, 1973 in Setauket, New York) is an American football punter for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Sauerbrun currently holds the New York state High School longest field goal record.
[edit] Pre-2001
While attending Ward Melville High School, Todd Sauerbrun kicked a field goal of 63 yards on October 27, 1990. He attended West Virginia University, where he graduated as the NCAA all-time leader in punting average. 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.
[edit] 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, 2003, and 2004 seasons. Sauerbrun also became the first player from either conference since the AFL-NFL Merger in 1970 to lead his conference in gross punting average for three consecutive seasons (2001-2003). However, during the 2004 season, the Panthers were riddled with injuries, and at one point, starting placekicker John Kasay suffered a leg injury, and the Panthers were forced to use Sauerbrun to replace Kasay. Sauerbrun refused to kick unless he was reimbursed for fines he incurred when he was overweight.
[edit] 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.
On April 3, 2007 he signed with the Broncos for a second time.
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Categories: American football punter stubs | 1973 births | Living people | American football punters | New England Patriots players | Carolina Panthers players | Chicago Bears players | Denver Broncos players | Kansas City Chiefs players | National Conference Pro Bowl players | West Virginia Mountaineers football players | People from Long Island
