The Baltimore Ravens place immense value on special teams. They have had one of the best units in that aspect of the game for a very long time, with multiple players being huge factors in how successful they’ve been. One of those has been punter Sam Koch, who has been as consistent as it gets at his position.
On Thursday, Koch revealed that he was retiring from the NFL. The 16-year veteran announcing his retirement is a day that many never wanted to come for such a remarkable player, but the selection of punter Jordan Stout in the fourth-round of the 2022 draft made it more likely that it happened sooner rather than later.
Sam Koch is announcing his retirement from the NFL.
Congratulations, @Sam_Koch4, on a terrific career. 💜 pic.twitter.com/YF53cWLqTn
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 19, 2022
You changed the game.
Thank you, @Sam_Koch4. 💜 pic.twitter.com/bqSNid1GXU
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 19, 2022
With the retirement of Koch, the Ravens save around $2 million in salary camp space. Out of a possible 257 games that he could have played over the course of his career, the veteran played in 256 of them. He made the Pro Bowl in 2015, and was one of the top punter options in the league for a very long time, even in his age-39 season in 2021.