Brian Donald Moorman (born February 5, 1976) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a punter in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Pittsburg State Gorillas, and was signed by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

after the 1999 NFL draft. He played for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

from 2001 to 2012, to which he returned after a one-year absence in 2013. He also played for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in 2012, and was a member of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

during the offseason prior to 2013, but was waived during the preseason. Moorman is a two-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selection and was voted to the Buffalo Bills 50th Anniversary Team and the

NFL 2000s All-Decade Team The NFL 2000s All-Decade Team is composed of outstanding performers in the National Football League in the ten years spanning 2000–2009. Only a player or coach's performance in the 2000s is used as criteria for voting. The full team was ann ...

. He is the founder of the P.U.N.T. Foundation, which supports children in

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...

who face life-threatening illnesses.

Early life

At Sedgwick High School in Sedgwick, Kansas, Moorman lettered in

, track, and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. In track, he was a three-time state hurdle champion and received all-state honors in Football and Baseball.

College career

Moorman became the first four-time All-American football player in

Pittsburg State University Pittsburg State University (Pitt State or PSU) is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas, United States. It enrolls approximately 7,400 students (6,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students) and is a member of the Kansas Board of Regen ...

history. He earned first-team NCAA Division II All-America honors as a punter in each of his final two collegiate seasons (1997–98) after earning honorable mention All-America honors his first two years (1995–96). Moorman still holds the school's career punting record (43.97 ypp) and he was named to PSU's prestigious 100th Anniversary Football Team in 2003.

Track and field

Moorman earned All-America honors on 10 occasions, including three straight NCAA Division II national championships in the 400 meter hurdles (1997–99). He also claimed eight conference individual event titles. Moorman also still ranks second all-time at PSU in the 400m hurdles (49.77).

Personal bests

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Moorman signed with the

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

during the summer of 2001. Moorman was named to the starting squad of the 2006 Pro Bowl for the second consecutive year. Moorman also made the 2007 Pro Bowl in which during the game he was most remembered for getting hit hard by

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

, Sean Taylor, which is considered one of Taylor's most memorable plays. On July 2, 2007, the

rewarded Moorman with a $10 million contract extension (through 2012), making him the second-highest paid punter in the league, behind Shane Lechler. In a 2008 34–10 opening day victory over the

, Moorman lined up to hold for what looked like a routine

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

attempt by placekicker

Rian Lindell Rian David Lindell (born January 20, 1977) is an American former professional football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football at ...

but instead took the ball and heaved a 19-yard

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

strike to

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Ryan Denney. Moorman had a career average of 46.6 yards per punt. In 2009, he also had a new career high in total yards punting with 4192 yards. On September 25, 2012, the Bills released Moorman soon after the third regular season game. He was replaced by Shawn Powell.

Dallas Cowboys

On September 26, 2012, Moorman signed with the

to replace an injured Chris Jones. He played 12 games with the Cowboys for a total of 15 games played in the 2012 regular season.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Moorman signed with the

on April 30, 2013. He was waived during the preseason.

Return to the Buffalo Bills

Moorman re-signed with the

on October 6, 2013, after the release of Shawn Powell. He was released August 29, 2014.

Retirement

Following his second release from the Bills, he announced his retirement through a letter to the city of Buffalo. Despite 14 years of professional football, Moorman never played a single postseason game, making him the only member of the NFL's 2000 All-Decade team to never play in a playoff game.

Awards

References

External links

*
Buffalo Bills bio

Brian Moorman's P.U.N.T. Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moorman, Brian 1976 births Living people People from Sedgwick, Kansas Players of American football from Wichita, Kansas American football punters Pittsburg State Gorillas football players Berlin Thunder players Seattle Seahawks players Buffalo Bills players Dallas Cowboys players Pittsburgh Steelers players American Conference Pro Bowl players