The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a bit of a wonky punting situation in 2024.
They started out with punter Jake Camarda, who carried over from last season, but after averaging just 36.5 net yards per punt, Camarda was released. That led to the team signing Trenton Gill, but Gill averaged just 38.7 net yards per punt and also kicked a kickoff out of bounds against the Carolina Panthers that led to points, so he was released. Finally, the Bucs went with Jack Browning, who was worse than Camarda, averaging 34.6 yards per punt.
Naturally, the team will be looking for a new punter. So they didn't just sign a new punter to a futures contract, they signed one of the best punters the Canadian Football League has in a while in the Edmonton Elks' Jake Julien.
Julien, from Barrie, Ontario, Canada, punted for Eastern Michigan in college and had a preseason stint with the New England Patriots before heading to the Canadian Football League. Julien had a preseason stint with the Ottawa Redblacks before landing with the Elks, and his 2024 season was one for the record books.
Julien averaged 54.0 yards per punt with a long of 87. That first number is the best punting average in CFL history, besting fellow Canadian native and former Seattle Seahawks punter Jon Ryan's previous record of 50.6 in 2005. His efforts were enough to award him a CFL All-Star nod with the Elks in 2024.
Julien will of course have competition in training camp to be Tampa Bay's next punter, but the big-legged Canadian may be what the Bucs are looking for as they try to solve one of their most persistent issues from the 2024 season.
