Getty Eagles punter Arryn Siposs might be getting some competition in Philadelphia.
Look for teams to start adding insurance policies at key positions with COVID-19 numbers on the rise. Quarterbacks are top priority, but don’t be surprised to see kickers and punters earning practice-squad spots.
The Philadelphia Eagles brought free-agent punter Brock Miller in for a tryout on Thursday. He has served practice-squad stints on three different NFL teams, including the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants. Miller inked a futures contract with the 49ers in 2017 and saw preseason action for the Rams in 2019. He averaged 47.4 yards per punt on 16 attempts, with a long of 58 yards for Los Angeles.
Thank you @Eagles for the workout today. Always a blessing to be back in a building. #StillPushin
Miller, a left-footed punter, went undrafted out of Southern Utah in the 2014 NFL draft. The 5-foot-11 California native has yet to see any snaps in a regular-season game but he did play for the Seattle Dragons of the XFL. His 67-yard punt for Seattle was tied for the longest punt in the XFL for the 2020 campaign. And Miller booted a 72-yarder during his senior year at Southern Utah.
Again, it appears Miller was only brought in for a tryout. Arryn Siposs has been very productive in his first year as the starting punter in Philadelphia. He has put 14 punts inside the 20-yard line, with a long of 68 yards. Siposs has 44 punts for 2,010 total yards (average: 45.7), with 1,772 net yards (average: 40.3).
Hey @NFL, I’m ready for another opportunity 🙏🏼
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Siposs Has Australian Rules Football Background
The Eagles signed Siposs as a free agent after losing Cameron Johnston in free agency. Both players parlayed successful Australian Rules Football careers into college football scholarships. Eagles special-teams coordinator Michael Clay credits that time in Australia for Siposs’ ability to drop punts near the goal line.
“I think a lot it comes from his Australian Rules Football background, and you can see a lot of these guys, they’re almost like sharpshooters in there in the plus-50 area. Especially all these punters,” Clay told reporters on November 9. “But he does excel at it and we work hard at it on Thursdays. We give the gunners some work for game-type situations, and we give our returners some work in that plus-50 area. And Arryn has done a fantastic job so far.”
People were clamoring for Arryn Siposs footage so here it is.
Eagles-Washington Moving to Monday?
The Washington Football Team added three more players to the Reserve/COVID-19 list, including safety Kam Curl, center Tyler Larsen, enter Keith Ismael. That makes 21 total players dealing with the novel coronavirus, with their active roster dropping from 53 players to 40 guys. The outbreak has caused the league to think about moving Sunday’s Eagles-Washington game to Monday.
Head coach Ron Rivera said there has been discussions about possibly rescheduling the contest. He also expressed optimism that some of the infected players would be cleared in time, noting that 80% of them had no symptoms (via The Athletic’s Ben Standig).
Ron Rivera to @kevinsheehanDC about any discussion with the league on rescheduling Sunday’s game: “There may have been. I know the league is looking at all options.”
So the game moving back a day remains possible? Rivera “I hope so. It happened last year.”
Kyle Shurmur would be the starting quarterback barring any last-minute negative test results, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Starter Taylor Heinicke and backup Kyle Allen are both in the league’s COVID-19 protocols right now.