Kansas City made another small addition to the roster on Wednesday afternoon by signing former Notre Dame punter Tyler Newsome.
In 2019, Newsome was picked up as an undrafted free agent by the Los Angeles Chargers to compete for a spot on special teams but was let go during the team’s final roster cuts. Newsome did not take a regular-season snap during his rookie campaign.
He now gets a second crack at making an NFL team as a member of the Chiefs, where he’ll compete with Dustin Colquitt on special teams.
According to his bio on NFL.com, Newsome was involved in a car accident in May 2012, where he spent 17 days in the hospital for several injuries including a fractured tailbone and ruptured spleen. He spent many months rehabbing and eventually became an all-state kicker in Georgia. He was offered a punting scholarship from Notre Dame before he was a senior in high school.
In 2015, he earned the starting punting job and kicked a 44.5 avg., 21 of 55 punts inside the 20-yard line, 8 touchbacks, and seven fair catches. He also took over as the kickoff specialist that season and kicked 21 touchbacks on 84 kicks.
In 2016, he focused on punting and kicked a 43.5 avg., 16 of 54 punts inside the 20-yard line, three touchbacks and seven fair catches. During his Junior season, he finished the 2017 season with a 43.6 avg., 19 of 63 punts inside the 20-yard line, four touchbacks and 17 fair catches.
In his final year at Notre Dame, he set a career-high, 44.7 yards per kick. He also finished with 13 fair catches, 19 of 53 punts inside the 20-yard line and nine touchbacks.
At 24-years-old, Newsome will look to out due Dustin Colquitt, who’s been the Chiefs starting punter since 2005.
