GREEN BAY, Wis. – Tim Masthay wore a black NFLPA hat and a white pullover with the logo of a local high school soccer team he helped coach. Lest you think his wardrobe choice – noticeably void of anything Green Bay Packers-related – was a statement about the team that cut him less than 24 hours ago, you should know this.
“Players don’t get to keep any of that gear,” Masthay said as he sat in a coffee shop on Wednesday afternoon.
That’s certainly not where Masthay thought he would be on the day before the Packers’ preseason finale. Although the veteran punter knew he had not locked up the job for a seventh straight season – he said as much when the team cut his training-camp competition Peter Mortell on Monday – he figured he’d at least get one more chance to prove himself in Thursday’s preseason finale at Kansas City.
He wasn’t even shocked the Packers claimed a punter, Jacob Schum, off waivers on Tuesday. He was just surprised that it was his roster spot that went to the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers punter.
“That’s just kind of the bummer side of it,” Masthay said during a lengthy interview with ESPN.com. “I think a lot of players [feel this way] and it usually doesn’t pan out, but I really loved being a Packer. I thought of it as a great honor. So I always had this vision and goal in my head that I’d play my whole career there and then retire.
“My goal was to play 10 years and retire as a Packer and play it all with [kicker] Mason [Crosby] and [long snapper] Brett [Goode]. So it’s hard for me to think about that.”
Still, Masthay was thankful for his six seasons, and he leaves town – which he will do in a matter of days to rejoin his wife, Amanda, and their three kids in Lexington, Kentucky – with the franchise record for net punting average in a season to his name. His job seemed to be in jeopardy from the moment the NFC divisional playoff game at Arizona ended last season. Masthay had his worst game of the season against the Cardinals.
“To play for a Super Bowl team, that was incredible,” Masthay said. “I’ve got bonds with those guys – all my teammates – but that Super Bowl team in particular. It’s really hard to say goodbye in particular to that group of guys who played my entire career with, won a Super Bowl with – I can’t even say their names out loud without potentially losing it emotionally.”
The risk in cutting Masthay is that it could send the Packers on a punting carousel like they experienced after cutting Jon Ryan, who went on to a successful (and ongoing) career with the Seahawks shortly before the 2008 season opener. The Packers picked up veteran Derrick Frost but dumped him after 12 games and brought in Jeremy Kapinos, who finished that season and held the job in 2009 until Masthay took over in 2010.
Masthay said he hopes that doesn’t happen.
“I hope Jake plays fantastic tomorrow night, and I hope he goes on to have a fantastic career here,” Masthay said. “I wish all the best for him, and I hope he has a great experience with the organization.”
As for Masthay, he’ll wait for a call from another team but he knows that considering he’s a vested veteran, he probably won’t get another chance until after Week 1 because a veteran who’s on the opening-day roster has to be paid for an entire season regardless of how many games he plays.
“It’s kind of like that first year in training camp and preseason here, where at that point is when I really realized I can do this,” Masthay said. “I am able to perform at the level in the moments that I need to, but I don’t know if I’m going to make it. That’s sort of what this is like. Obviously I know I can do it. But it’s not like there’s always a spot open. There’s so few jobs available that just like I told Pete [Mortell] the other day, it takes getting the right opportunity at the right time and performing in that moment. So will I get the right opportunity at the right time? That is a complete unknown. If I do, do I feel like I can make it? Absolutely. So time will tell.”