The Baltimore Ravens’ legendary punter Sam Koch is calling it a career. Koch, who spent all of his 16 NFL seasons with the Ravens, announced his retirement during a press conference on Thursday.
However, this won’t be the end of Koch’s involvement with the Ravens. He’ll transition to a coaching role with the franchise as a special teams consultant. The 39-year-old player will spend most of his time mentoring rookie Jordan Stout, whom Baltimore drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft to be his successor.
Stout’s arrival actually signaled that the end was near for Koch. It also made sense for the Ravens to move away from the veteran, considering he had one of the biggest cap hits for a punter in the league.
“So, they made that decision, and at that point, I think I knew my time was over, and it’s OK,” said Koch. “I’m very excited for my next chapter in life and all I can do is be very appreciative of the way they handled it.”
Sam Koch played 256 regular-season games for the Baltimore Ravens, missing only one game since entering the NFL in 2006. He averaged 45.3 yards per punt over the course of his career and has one Pro Bowl and one Second-team All-Pro nod on his resume. Koch retires as the longest-tenured player in Ravens’ history.
