Matt Turk
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Matthew Edward Turk (born June 16, 1968) 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 was originally signed by the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
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 ...
in 1993. 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 ...
at the
University of Wisconsin–Whitewater The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UW–Whitewater or UWW) is a public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System. As of Fall 2024, the university offers 47 undergraduate majors ...
. A three-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, Turk has also been a member of the
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
,
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 ...
,
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
,
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
,
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
,
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
, and
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
. He is the 2nd tallest punter in NFL history (tied with 2 others).


Early years

Turk graduated from Greenfield High School in his birthplace of
Greenfield, Wisconsin Greenfield is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 37,803 as of the 2020 census. Greenfield is one of many bedroom communities in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. History On March 8, 1839, the Town of Kinnik ...
in 1986. Matt 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
University of Wisconsin–Whitewater The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UW–Whitewater or UWW) is a public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System. As of Fall 2024, the university offers 47 undergraduate majors ...
and graduated with a degree in
elementary education Primary education is the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle schools, de ...
in 1993. With the
Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks The Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks (or UW–Whitewater Warhawks) are the athletic teams of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. Twenty Warhawk athletic teams compete in NCAA Division III. The Warhawks often rank among the top of NCAA Divisio ...
, Turk averaged 36.3 yards per punt. The Warhawks won the Wisconsin State University Conference Championship in 1990 season. Turk also played the tight end position at UWW.


Professional career

Turk played for the Racine Raiders before entering the NFL. He signed with the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
and
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
in 1993 and 1994 respectively, but did not make the final roster on either team.


Washington Redskins

On April 5, 1995, the
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 ...
signed Turk, and for the first time in his career, he made an NFL roster. In 1996 he was named a First Team All-Pro, the last time a Washington player of any position has received that honor until guard
Brandon Scherff Brandon Scherff (born December 26, 1991) is an American professional football guard who is a free agent. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, earning unanimous All-American honors. He was selected by the Washington Redskins in the f ...
was honored in 2021. He stayed on the team until they traded Turk to the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
on March 9, 2000. He was traded because of a strained relationship with owner Dan Snyder over a finger injury he had that caused him to miss a game. He also was upset because there was a report that he got injured in a basketball game (although that was later proven false after it was discovered that he was misdiagnosed.) Turk said he "wasn't surprised" and the Redskins "did him a favor" by trading him.


Miami Dolphins

Turk played for the Dolphins for 2 seasons (2000–2001).


New York Jets

On April 23, 2002, Turk signed with the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
. On March 7, he was released.


Return to Dolphins

After a poor performance by
Mark Royals Mark Alan Royals (born June 22, 1965) is a former American football punter in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Mi ...
, Turk was re-signed by the Dolphins on September 29, 2003. After having a visit with the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
(the first team he signed with his career), he ultimately re-signed with the Dolphins on March 23, 2004. After being placed on Injured Reserve, he was released on October 12, 2005.


Return to Rams

On April 4, 2006, Turk and the St. Louis Rams agreed to a 1-year deal 12 years after he signed with the team.


Houston Texans

The Houston Texans signed Matt Turk late in the 2007 offseason to compete with incumbent punter Chad Stanley. He won the job after Chad Stanley was cut on August 31, 2007 After ranking 2nd in punts inside the 20, he was re-signed for a 2-year, 3.5 million dollar contract on March 19, 2008, the first day he was eligible to sign a free agent contract. On March 9, 2010, his agent David Canter announced he signed a 1-year contract to return to the Texans. He was not re-signed in 2011.


Jacksonville Jaguars

On July 28, 2011, Turk signed a contract with the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
. He was released October 11 after a terrible game against the Bengals. The fans booed him and he was waving his hands as if he wanted to be booed more.


Return to Texans

After Brett Hartmann was placed on IR, the Texans re-signed Matt Turk. He said it was a "dream come true" to return to the team.


NFL career statistics


Regular season


Postseason


Personal life

Turk currently lives in
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. He has a wife, Stephanie, and his three daughters. The youngest of six brothers, Matt Turk had a brother who also played in the NFL, Dan Turk, who was a center for 15 seasons; Dan died on December 24, 2000. In his last season, Dan was the long snapper for one of Matt's punts, to become the first brothers to do so. His nephew, Ben Turk, was the starting punter for the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 seasons. Ben Turk worked out for the Texans' rookie mini camp in the 2013 off season, but didn't sign. Another of Matt's nephews, Michael Turk was a punter for Arizona State, and transferred to Oklahoma in 2021. In April 2023, after going undrafted Michael Turk was signed by one of his uncles former teams, the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
before getting cut.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turk, Matt 1968 births Living people American football punters Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks football players Green Bay Packers players Los Angeles Rams players Washington Redskins players Miami Dolphins players New York Jets players St. Louis Rams players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Jacksonville Jaguars players National Conference Pro Bowl players People from Greenfield, Wisconsin Players of American football from Milwaukee County, Wisconsin