Relax 49ers fans, they have found a punter
49ers fans can breathe a sigh of relief, they now have a punter on the roster. The 49ers have announced they have signed punter Justin Vogel to a one-year deal Tuesday afternoon.
The 49ers had holes on their roster through free agency, but the one position they had nothing for was punter. Bradley Pinion signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shortly after free agency began and the 49ers needed to find a new leg to go into it.
Here’s what the 49ers had to say about Vogel:
Vogel (6-5, 220) originally entered the NFL after signing with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted rookie free agent on May 5, 2017. He appeared in all 16 games as a rookie and punted 71 times for 3,155 yards (44.4 average), posted a 41.6 net average and had 19 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. A 2018 Pro Bowl alternate, his 41.6 net punting average ranked seventh in the NFL and was the highest by a Packers punter since 1976, while his two touchbacks on the season were the fewest by a Green Bay punter with at least 70 punts. Vogel was waived by Green Bay on May 4, 2018 and was later claimed off of waivers by the Cleveland Browns on May 7, 2018. After spending training camp with Cleveland, he was waived on September 1, 2018.
Vogel seems like he’s bounced around a bit but given that he was a 2018 Pro Bowl alternate gives some promise. Why he wasn’t on a roster for the 2018 season (remember the 2018 Pro Bowl was for the 2017 regular season), is a bit odd, but he seems to have a leg the 49ers can take advantage of.
This doesn’t stop the 49ers from making more adjustments to their kicking unit in the draft or adding another leg via free agency.
But if there’s anything that needs to be taken from this, the 49ers have addressed a need. Much like two years ago when they entered free agency without a quarterback, they have entered this free agency without a punter, and just like their last roster hole, they have addressed this need.
Punters are people too.
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