NFL free agency 2023: Punter Thomas Morstead leaving Dolphins, signs with Jets

The Miami Dolphins will have a new punter for 2023. Miami added former New Orleans Saints Pro Bowl punter Thomas Morstead to the roster in 2022, providing them with a reliable and consistent kicker who demonstrated a prowess of pinning teams inside their own 20-yard line. Signed on a one-year contract, Morstead, the Saints’ fifth-round draft pick in 2009 out of SMU, had indicated he would like to return to the Dolphins for his 16th season, but now, it appears he will join a new team - but stay in the AFC East.

Morstead took to Twitter on Friday to announce he was signing with the New York Jets. This will mark his second stint with the Jets, having started the 2021 campaign there. He was released after seven games that season, joining the Atlanta Falcons for the remainder of the year.

With the Dolphins, Morstead punted 61 times for an average of 46.4 yards. He pinned 28 of those kicks inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. He finished the season with a net average of 40.5.

Miami hosted punter Jake Bailey on a free-agent visit on Friday. The former New England Patriots punter could make the move to South Florida and join the AFC East rotation of players this year. [Update: Shortly after initial publication, the Dolphins announced the signing of Bailey.]