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Jack Fox (American football)

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Jack Fox
refer to caption
Fox with the Lions in 2021
No. 3 – Detroit Lions
Position:Punter
Personal information
Born: (1996-09-01) September 1, 1996 (age 28)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:218 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school:Ladue Horton Watkins
(Ladue, Missouri)
College:Rice (2015–2018)
Undrafted:2019
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards

NFL records

  • Most yards per punt in NFL history (minimum 250 career punts): 48.7[1]
Career NFL statistics as of Week 13, 2024
Punts:270
Punting yards:13,153
Average punt:48.7
Inside 20:103
Pass attempts:5
Pass completions:4
Passing yards:61
Passer rating:117.5
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Jack Edward Fox (born September 1, 1996) is an American professional football punter for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Rice.

Early years

[edit]

Fox was born in Dallas, Texas and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Ladue Horton Watkins High School, where he played baseball and football. As a senior, he was named first-team All-State as a punter and to the second-team as a placekicker while also passing for 1,900 yards and 18 touchdowns at quarterback.[2]

College career

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Fox was both a kicker and punter for four seasons at Rice University. As a freshman he handled kickoffs and made 12 of 12 extra point attempts and one of two field goal attempts. He became the Owls punter going into his sophomore year and was named honorable mention All-Conference USA (C-USA) after punting 75 times for 3,051 yards (40.7 average) with two extra points and one field goal made. As a junior, Fox had 56 punts for 2,480 yards (44.3 average) with one extra point attempted and made and was named second-team All-C-USA. He also became the primary kicker for Rice as a senior and was named first-team All-conference and the Conference Special Teams Player of the Year, as well as a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, after punting 80 times 3,636 yards (45.5 average) with 23 extra points attempted and making 5 of 12 field goal attempts.[3]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 2+1⁄2 in
(1.89 m) 		213 lb
(97 kg) 		31+3⁄4 in
(0.81 m) 		9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		 4.73 s 1.68 s 2.76 s 29.5 in
(0.75 m)		 9 ft 6 in
(2.90 m)
All values from NFL Combine[4][5]

Kansas City Chiefs

[edit]

Fox was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2019.[6] He was waived during final roster cuts.[7] Fox was re-signed by the Chiefs to their practice squad on October 30, 2019, after the team's punter, Dustin Colquitt, suffered a quad strain but was released one week later on November 6.[8][9]

Detroit Lions

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Fox was signed to the Detroit Lions practice squad on December 5, 2019, where he spent the rest of the season.[10] He was signed to a futures contract at the end of the season.[11] Fox was named the Lions opening day punter at the end of training camp, beating out Arryn Siposs.[12] Fox made his NFL debut on September 13, 2020, in the season opener against the Chicago Bears, punting 4 times for 197 yards (49.3 average) with two punts inside the 20-yard line.[13] Fox was named the National Football Conference (NFC) Special Teams Player of the Month for September.[14]

Fox finished his first season with 59 punts for an average of 49.1 yards and a net average of 44.8, both Lions records, and was named to the 2021 Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro.[15][16] He was given an exclusive-rights free agent tender by the Lions on March 4, 2021.[17] He signed the one-year contract on April 23.[18]

On October 22, 2022, Fox signed a three-year, $11.325 million contract extension with the Lions, making him the highest-paid punter in the league.[19] In the 2023 NFL season, Fox made it to the NFC Championship with the Lions where he punted twice for 108 yards (54.0 average). The Lions would ultimately lose to the San Francisco 49ers 31–34 after allowing a 17-point comeback.[20]

In Week 3 of the 2024 season, Fox punted five times, with four inside the 20-yard line in a 20-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals, earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[21]

Personal life

[edit]

In the 2021 off-season, Fox organized a young specialist camp where he invited youth kickers and punters from the Detroit area. In a 2024 interview with the Detroit Metro Times, Fox referenced his childhood interest in Harry Potter, describing himself as a "Hufflepuff, perfectly at home here in Detroit".[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Most career yards per punt by a player, minimum 250 career punts". Stathead. Archived from the original on December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  2. ^ Frederickson, Ben (January 18, 2019). "Former Ladue High QB turns into NFL draft prospect as punter". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  3. ^ Goldman, Charles (June 12, 2019). "Chiefs UDFA Spotlight: Rice P Jack Fox". Chiefs Wire. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  4. ^ "Jack Fox Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  5. ^ "2019 NFL Draft Scout Jack Fox College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  6. ^ Kissell, BJ (May 4, 2019). "Meet the Kansas City Chiefs' 17 Undrafted Rookie Free Agents for 2019". Chiefs.com. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  7. ^ Bartlett, Matthew (August 31, 2019). "Former Rice Football punter Jack Fox released by Chiefs". AtTheRoost.com. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  8. ^ Derrick, Matt (October 30, 2019). "Punter Jack Fox Returns to Chiefs with Dustin Colquitt Battling Injury". SI.com. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  9. ^ Goldman, Charles (November 6, 2019). "Chiefs sign free agent TE Alizé Mack to practice squad". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  10. ^ "Lions Sign Free Agent P Jack Fox To Practice Squad". 97.1 The Ticket. December 5, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  11. ^ Meinke, Kyle (December 30, 2019). "Lions sign 11 players to futures contract, including long snapper". MLive.com. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  12. ^ Schlitt, Erik (September 5, 2020). "Jack Fox wins Lions punter battle, Arryn Siposs waived". Lions Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  13. ^ Schlitt, Erik (September 14, 2020). "Lions Week 1 snap counts: Quintez Cephus replaces injured Kenny Golladay". Lions Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  14. ^ Maakaron, John (October 1, 2020). "Jack Fox Named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month". SI.com. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  15. ^ Birkett, Dave (December 21, 2020). "Detroit Lions have three 2020 Pro Bowlers: T.J. Hockenson, Frank Ragnow, Jack Fox". The Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  16. ^ Niyo, John (January 8, 2021). "Lions' Frank Ragnow, Jack Fox earn All-Pro honors". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  17. ^ "Lions tender three exclusive rights free agents". DetroitLions.com. March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  18. ^ "2021 NFL Transactions: Signings – April". NFL.com. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  19. ^ Baca, Michael (October 22, 2022). "Lions sign punter Jack Fox to three-year extension". NFL.com.
  20. ^ "NFC Championship – Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers – January 28th, 2024". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  21. ^ Gordon, Grant (September 25, 2024). "Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Commanders QB Jayden Daniels highlight Players of the Week". NFL.com.
  22. ^ DeMara, Max (June 10, 2021). "Jack Fox Organizes Young Specialist Instruction Camp to Give Back". Heavy.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
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