Brett Kern has punted his last football.
Kern announced his retirement after 15 NFL seasons on Thursday. He was a member of the Titans for 13 of those seasons and he made his announcement through the team while recounting the difficulty he faced with officially drawing the curtain on his career.
“It’s been hard,” Kern said. “It’s also brought back a lot of memories, too. You want to be able to thank a ton of people who helped you over the years, and all the memories from games, from teammates and coaches, conversations in the locker rooms, and road trips. To try and get 15 years into 3-4 pages on Microsoft Word, it’s been pretty challenging. It’s been emotional, too, just thinking back at certain memories. It’s also emotional just because there’s such a sense of gratitude to a lot of people who have helped me get this far. And, just knowing it’s closing a chapter on a really important part of my life and starting a new one.”
Kern won the Broncos punting job in 2008 as an undrafted free agent, but moved on to Tennessee as a waiver claim in October 2009. He remained with the Titans through 2021 and appeared in six games for the Eagles last season. Two of those appearances came in playoff wins, but Kern did not play in the Super Bowl as Arryn Siposs handled punting duties — and helped set up a key Kadarius Toney return with a poor kick — after coming off of injured reserve.
Kern made three Pro Bowls while with the Titans and was named a first-team All-Pro after the 2019 season. He retires with a career average of 45.9 yards per kick.