After it was thought he would be heading elsewhere, the Cowboys are set to retain their punter. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Bryan Anger is signing a three-year, $9M contract with Dallas. The team has confirmed the move.
Anger, 33, joined the Cowboys on a one-year deal last season. He was actually one of the team’s final cuts before the season started, but they brought him back in time to play every game. The $3M-per-season average of this contract is a sizeable raise from the $1.075M he played for in 2021.
The Cal alum was a third round pick of the Jaguars in 2012. He played for four seasons in Jacksonville, leading the league in average yards per punt in 2014. That was followed by a three-year stint in Tampa Bay, where he was used less frequently but maintained a high degree of effectiveness and consistency. He spent 2019 and 2020 with the Texans.
This past campaign, Anger enjoyed a career year. He set a new personal mark in terms of punting average (48.4 yards). He also broke the Cowboys’ franchise record for net average at 44.6 yards per punt. That performance earned him his first career trip to the Pro Bowl, along with second team All-Pro honors.
From a financial standpoint, that led some to believe Anger would be on the move again. Before free agency began, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reported that he was “unlikely to return to Dallas”. Now, however, the team has found the money to keep one of their best players from last year in the fold.
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