With the exception of the second half of the 2014 season, when he numbers plummeted, Masthay has been consistent during his six seasons as the Packers’ punter. “He’s got a great head on his shoulders, too, so I won’t be surprised if he does make it”.
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Asked about the decision to release Mortell on Monday, Packers coach Mike McCarthy didn’t immediate declare Masthay the victor of the competition.
“I thought Peter Mortell was a young punter that has a lot of growth in front of him”, McCarthy said.
Mortell’s grandfather served as the Packers clock operator dating all the way back to the Lombardi era, a job his father eventually took over and now holds. Masthay’s numbers fell short of that, nine punts with a gross average of 42.8 yards and a net average of only 31.6 yards. “It was good experience for him”.
The fan-favorite wideout and special-teams ace returned to practice Monday, making the Packers’ roster cuts even more hard. “I thought he was definitely making progress and was pushing the envelope with the competition”. Last season, Masthay ranked 25th in the National Football League with an average of 43.9 yards per punt.
Mortell, a Green Bay native with lengthy ties to the organization – his grandfather ran the clock at Lambeau Field and his father now runs the clock, and Mortell handed out stats in the press box while a student and player at Green Bay Notre Dame high school – showed he has the leg to make it in the NFL. His childhood home is so close, in fact, Mortell lived there during camp instead of in the team hotel. Dan Pompei of Bleacher Report traced Mortell’s ties to the Packers even further back than that. First, he needed to be the best punter in camp. He battled injuries in his senior season after tearing the meniscus in his plant leg midway through the season.
Mortell worked out extensively with the Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer at Minnesota’s pro day in March.
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Although he was inconsistent in the team’s season-ending loss to Arizona in the playoffs, Masthay was at his best down the stretch last season, averaging 44.9 net yards per punt in December. That has changed in the preseason; Locke is averaging 46.4 yards on 17 punts.
