South Carolina's all-time punting standout who bounced from the Jets to the Saints as a rookie before landing in Houston via trade.
Kai Kroeger built his reputation as one of the SEC's most prolific punters across five seasons at South Carolina. After an undrafted rookie year that saw him waived and re-signed within months, he now holds down the punting job for the Texans.
Path to the league
Kroeger went undrafted out of South Carolina and signed with the New York Jets in May 2025, only to be waived that July. The New Orleans Saints picked him up days later, and he handled their punting duties for the full 2025 season.
Career highlights
Across five seasons as the Gamecocks' punter, Kroeger finished second in SEC history with 11,823 punting yards and set the South Carolina program record with 265 punts. He earned first-team All-SEC and first-team All-American honors in 2022, then added second-team All-American recognition in 2024 after averaging a career-best 47.8 yards per punt. He also doubled as South Carolina's holder and completed trick-play passes for three touchdowns.
2025 season recap
Kroeger played all 17 games for New Orleans in 2025, averaging 44.8 yards per punt with a long of 61 and 18 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, though his overall numbers ranked in the bottom third of the league. The Saints traded him to Houston in March 2026 in a swap of late-round future draft picks.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Kai Kroeger
- Pro Football Reference: Kai Kroeger
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Punting
17 games played▶Punting · career
| Year | Team | GP | PUNTS | YDS | AVG | LNG | IN20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | saints | 17 | 56 | 2,511 | 44.8 | 61 | 18 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Punter
- Group
- specialTeam
- College
- South Carolina
- Hometown
- Lake Forest, IL, USA
- Age
- 24
- Status
- active
