Kern Prepared for Whatever Happens Next

The veteran punter feels comfortable with how he competed against rookie Ryan Stonehouse throughout the offseason and training camp.

NASHVILLE – Whatever would have been the proper amount of emotion and sentimentality, Brett Kern is pretty sure he did not have it.

The long-time Tennessee Titans’ punter and three-time Pro Bowler is certain that his roster spot is in jeopardy. As such, he admittedly took in as many moments as possible during Saturday’s 26-23 preseason victory over the Arizona Cardinals at Nissan Stadium just in case it was his last time there as a member of the home team.

“If I’m here [next week], then I probably overreacted,” Kern said. “And if I’m not, then I definitely underreacted.”

Either way, he had all the time he wanted for reflection.

Rookie Ryan Stonehouse, the man who has put Kern’s professional status in jeopardy, handled all the punts and all the holds on placekicks in the final tune-up for the regular season. Stonehouse averaged 49.4 yards on seven kicks with three downed inside the 20.

It was a performance consistent with why the Titans signed him after this year’s NFL Draft. In five seasons at Colorado State, Stonehouse set an NCAA record with a career average of 47.8 yards per punt.

The competition between the two has been a friendly and respectful. But the NFL roster limit drops to the regular-season level of 53 on Tuesday, and that is a number that does not allow for two punters except in dire circumstances. That means somebody has to go in the next couple days.

Coach Mike Vrabel and general manager Jon Robinson make no secret of their desire to get younger and cheaper at any position whenever possible. In this case, Stonehouse is 23 (13 years younger than Kern) and will earn $705,000 if he plays the season. Kern, on the other hand, has the fourth-highest 2022 salary cap hit among punters at $2.75 million.

“Competition is my favorite – honestly – ever since I was in high school, and this experience has been fantastic,” Stonehouse said. “Getting to learn from the vet and I couldn't ask for a better place to land.”

Stonehouse’s longest punt against the Cardinals was 64 yards, which made it three straight preseason games in which he had at least one of 60 yards or more. Kern’s preseason long was 58 yards, but his average – on five punts – was 49.6 yards, not far off Stonehouse’s average of 50.2, and four of Kern’s attempts ended up inside the 20.

Kern’s net average of 44.2 yards was better than Stonehouse’s 43.6. A lot of that has to do with the fact that Stonehouse had six touchbacks among his 13 punts, which is more than Kern has had in his last seven regular seasons.

“I knew (this year) was different when I first saw him punt a ball in (May),” Kern said. “I knew then that it was going to be a grind. I’ve told him I’ve been in the league a long time, and I have seen about three or four people in my entire life hit a ball like he does.

“I knew it was going to be hard. I knew what he was really good at, I’m probably not. And what I’m really good at, he just needs some work on it. So, it was just kind of back and forth a lot. I gave it all I had, and we’ll see what happens.”

Still, he can’t ignore the possibility that he won’t put on a Titans uniform again.

No one has played more games for the franchise during the Titans era (1999-present) than Kern. In fact, it’s not even close. His 197 are 36 more (better than two full seasons worth) than the man he replaced, Craig Hentrich. The rest of the top five are linebacker Keith Bulluck (157), tackle Michael Roos (148) and kicker Rob Bironas (144).

“I’m just thankful for whatever happens,” Kern said. “If I’m here, I’m ready to go. I’m ready to roll. And if I’m not, I’m beyond blessed with the years that I’ve been here and the friendships that I’ve made, the brothers that I have for the rest of my life. So, I’m sure thankful for that.

“… I just kind of understand how the business works, and we’ll see what happens.”