Richard Lamar Tuten (January 5, 1965 – June 13, 2017) was an American professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Seattle Seahawks. He punted the ball 108 times in 1992, tied for fourth-most in a season in NFL history.[1] In 1992, he punted for 4,760 yards with an average of 44.1 yards per punt. In 1994, the year he went to his only Pro Bowl, he punted the ball 91 times for 3,905 yards, an average of 42.9 yards per punt, and also scored a two-point conversion, the only scored points of his career. Tuten also received a ring as a member of the St. Louis Rams' Super Bowl championship team. However, he did not play in the game itself due to injury.
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| Position: | Punter | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | January 5, 1965 Perry, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | June 13, 2017 (aged 52) Costa Rica | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 221 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Forest (Ocala, Florida) | ||||||||
| College: | Florida State | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 1988 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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While with the Seattle Seahawks in 1998, he won the designation as the league's strongest man pound-for-pound in Flex magazine.
He has a daughter named Ryan, who married Buffalo Bills Kicker Tyler Bass on March 15, 2024, in Ocala, FL. He also has a son named Chase.
While on vacation with his wife in Costa Rica in 2017, Tuten unexpectedly died at age 52.[2][3]
Career statistics
edit- Regular season
| † | Denotes Super Bowl–winning season |
| Led the league |
| General | Punting | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | Punts | Yards | Y/P | Net | In20 | TB | ||
| 1989 | Philadelphia | 2 | 7 | 256 | 36.6 | 33.6 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1990 | Buffalo | 14 | 53 | 2,107 | 39.8 | 34.2 | 12 | 4 | ||
| 1991 | Seattle | 10 | 49 | 2,106 | 43.0 | 36.9 | 8 | 3 | ||
| 1992 | Seattle | 16 | 108 | 4,760 | 44.1 | 38.7 | 29 | 8 | ||
| 1993 | Seattle | 16 | 90 | 4,007 | 44.5 | 37.3 | 21 | 7 | ||
| 1994 | Seattle | 16 | 91 | 3,905 | 42.9 | 36.7 | 33 | 7 | ||
| 1995 | Seattle | 16 | 83 | 3,735 | 45.0 | 36.5 | 21 | 8 | ||
| 1996 | Seattle | 16 | 85 | 3,746 | 44.1 | 34.5 | 20 | 7 | ||
| 1997 | Seattle | 11 | 48 | 2,007 | 41.8 | 36.4 | 15 | 5 | ||
| 1998 | St. Louis | 16 | 95 | 4,202 | 44.2 | 35.3 | 16 | 10 | ||
| 1999† | St. Louis | 8 | 32 | 1,359 | 42.5 | 34.9 | 9 | 7 | ||
| Career | 141 | 741 | 32,190 | 43.4 | 36.3 | 185 | 67 | |||
References
edit- ^ "Individual Records: Punting". NFL.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2004. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ^ writer, Aaron Brand Staff. "Former NFL punter, Forest grad Rick Tuten dies". ocala.com. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ "RICK TUTEN Obituary (2017) - Ocala, FL". Legacy.com.
External links
edit- Career statistics from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
- Seattle Seahawks – Seahawks remember former punter Rick Tuten