New Orleans Saints Executive Vice President / General Manager Mickey Loomis announced today that the club has terminated the contract with bettor Thomas Morstead.
Morstead, 6-4, 235 pounds, has spent the past 12 seasons in Black and Gold after being selected in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft by SMU. Team captain since 2013, he made a great contribution both in the field with the organization and with the local community.
Morstead appeared in 190 regular season games, ranked fourth in the team’s record books and kicked 692 times for 32,190 yards for a punting average of 46.5 and 41.6 net, ranked second in the NFL records since the statistic was first recorded in 1976. 251 of his punts fell within the 20-yard line, tied for the 33rd highest total since the statistic was recorded in 1976 and the highest in the club’s record books. Morstead served as the club’s top kickoff specialist in 2009-14 and 259 of his career’s 532 kickoffs went into the final touchback zone (48.7%). His most famous kicking job on the tee occurred as a newcomer to Super Bowl XLIV, when he successfully executed a side kick early in the second half that was recovered by New Orleans and led to a touchdown, dubbed an “ambush”. Morstead was selected for the Pro Bowl in 2012, when he was also a consensus All-Pro. Throughout his career, he has been selected five times as Player of the Week for NFC Special Teams.
Morstead also appeared in 15 postseason games for New Orleans, the second in the club’s record books and kicked 54 times for 2,405 yards with a gross average of 44.5 punting and 41.0 net with 19 hits out of 20.
In 2020, Morstead appeared in all 16 games of the regular season, for the 11th time in his 12-year career and kicked 62 times for 2,674 yards with an average score of 43.1, 41.7 net with 23 thrown into the line 20 yards. He was named Player of the Week for NFC Special Teams after the season’s opening victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when he kicked six punts for 264 yards with 44.0 gross / net, five within 20 and also landed a kick that was hindered by Tampa Bay and recovered by New Orleans to establish a touchdown.
Off the field, Morstead and his wife Lauren made great contributions to the Southern Gulf Community, leaving a lasting legacy through their foundation “What You Give Will Grow”, created in 2012. The Walter Payton Award team nominee of Man of the Year in In 2013, Morstead focused most of his efforts in the region on initiatives related to cancer and children, in addition to helping those in need during the holiday seasons and also when natural disasters affected the region.
“Thomas Morstead has been the epitome of the consummate professional since the day we selected him for the 2009 NFL Draft,” said Loomis. “He has been a notable gambler and a notable leader in the locker room and team captain eight times. His work in the community has been nothing short of remarkable. We know that as we approach the start of the NFL calendar year, very difficult decisions have to be made and that certainly falls into this category. We appreciate the dedication and professionalism that Thomas has brought to our organization from the moment he joined our team and sincerely wish him and his family the best. “
“Thomas has been a very important part of the New Orleans Saints organization and our community since 2009,” said Saints coach Sean Payton. “It was an honor to have coached and witnessed his growth as a player and as a person. He has been a great leader and mentor to many younger players throughout his career and his level of playing in the Pro Bowl year after year – out was I know Thomas will be very successful in the future and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to train him. “