Jack Fox (American football) explained

Jack Fox
Current Team:Detroit Lions
Number:3
Position:Punter
Birth Date:1 September 1996
Birth Place:Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Height In:2
Weight Lbs:218
High School:Ladue Horton Watkins
(Ladue, Missouri)
College:Rice (2015-2018)
Undraftedyear:2019
Pastteams:
Status:Active
Highlights:
Statseason:2023
Statlabel1:Punts
Statvalue1:233
Statlabel2:Punting yards
Statvalue2:11,266
Statlabel3:Average punt
Statvalue3:48.4
Statlabel4:Inside 20
Statvalue4:83
Statlabel5:Pass attempts
Statvalue5:5
Statlabel6:Pass completions
Statvalue6:4
Statlabel7:Passing yards
Statvalue7:58
Pfr:F/FoxxJa01

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

Early years

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.[1]

College career

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.[2]

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Fox was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2019.[3] He was waived during final roster cuts.[4] 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.[5] [6]

Detroit Lions

Fox was signed to the Detroit Lions practice squad on December 5, 2019, where he spent the rest of the season.[7] He was signed to a futures contract at the end of the season.[8] Fox was named the Lions opening day punter at the end of training camp, beating out Arryn Siposs.[9] 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.[10] Fox was named the National Football Conference (NFC) Special Teams Player of the Month for September.[11]

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.[12] [13] He was given an exclusive-rights free agent tender by the Lions on March 4, 2021.[14] He signed the one-year contract on April 23.[15]

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.[16] 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.[17]

Personal life

In the 2021 off-season, Fox organized a young specialist camp where he invited youth kickers and punters from the Detroit area.[18]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Frederickson . Ben . January 18, 2019 . Former Ladue High QB turns into NFL draft prospect as punter . October 2, 2020 . St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  2. Web site: Goldman . Charles . June 12, 2019 . Chiefs UDFA Spotlight: Rice P Jack Fox . September 14, 2020 . Chiefs Wire.
  3. Web site: Kissell . BJ . May 4, 2019 . Meet the Kansas City Chiefs' 17 Undrafted Rookie Free Agents for 2019 . September 6, 2020 . Chiefs.com.
  4. Web site: Bartlett . Matthew . August 31, 2019 . Former Rice Football punter Jack Fox released by Chiefs . September 6, 2020 . AtTheRoost.com.
  5. Web site: Derrick . Matt . October 30, 2019 . Punter Jack Fox Returns to Chiefs with Dustin Colquitt Battling Injury . September 6, 2020 . SI.com.
  6. Web site: Goldman . Charles . November 6, 2019 . Chiefs sign free agent TE Alizé Mack to practice squad . September 6, 2020 . Chiefs Wire . USA Today.
  7. Web site: December 5, 2019 . Lions Sign Free Agent P Jack Fox To Practice Squad . September 6, 2020 . 97.1 The Ticket.
  8. Web site: Meinke . Kyle . December 30, 2019 . Lions sign 11 players to futures contract, including long snapper . September 6, 2020 . MLive.com.
  9. Web site: Schlitt . Erik . September 5, 2020 . Jack Fox wins Lions punter battle, Arryn Siposs waived . September 6, 2020 . Lions Wire . USA Today.
  10. Web site: Schlitt . Erik . September 14, 2020 . Lions Week 1 snap counts: Quintez Cephus replaces injured Kenny Golladay . September 14, 2020 . Lions Wire . USA Today.
  11. Web site: Maakaron . John . October 1, 2020 . Jack Fox Named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month . October 1, 2020 . SI.com.
  12. Web site: Birkett . Dave . December 21, 2020 . Detroit Lions have three 2020 Pro Bowlers: T.J. Hockenson, Frank Ragnow, Jack Fox . December 21, 2020 . The Detroit Free Press.
  13. Web site: Niyo . John . January 8, 2021 . Lions' Frank Ragnow, Jack Fox earn All-Pro honors . January 9, 2021 . The Detroit News.
  14. Web site: March 4, 2021 . Lions tender three exclusive rights free agents . March 8, 2021 . DetroitLions.com.
  15. Web site: 2021 NFL Transactions: Signings – April . April 23, 2021 . NFL.com.
  16. Web site: Baca . Michael . October 22, 2022 . Lions sign punter Jack Fox to three-year extension . NFL.com.
  17. Web site: NFC Championship – Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers – January 28th, 2024 . 2024-07-01 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.
  18. Web site: DeMara . Max . June 10, 2021 . Jack Fox Organizes Young Specialist Instruction Camp to Give Back . January 7, 2022 . Heavy.com . en-US.