Bryan Anger

Bryan Corey Anger (born October 6, 1988) is an American football punter for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears and was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft. Anger has also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans.

Early life
Anger attended Camarillo High School. As a senior, he posted a 41.8-yard average, 11 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, and 42 receptions for 678 yards and six touchdowns. Anger received SA Today All-American, EA Sports All-American, All-Far West team by SuperPrep, Prepstar All-West Region and Cal-Hi Sports first-team All-State honors. He was listed as the No. 2 punter in the country by Rivals.

College career
Anger accepted a football scholarship from the University of California, Berkeley.

As a redshirt freshman, Anger registered a 43.1-yard punt average (sixth in school history) and had 26 punts downed inside the 20. Against Stanford University, he hit a 75-yard punt (tied for fifth in school history) and a career-long 76-yard punt (fourth in school history). Against Arizona State University, Anger hit a 72-yard punt. Against Arizona, he averaged 48.4 yards on seven attempts. Against Michigan State University, Anger had a blocked punt.

As a junior, Anger set the school single-season record for punt average (45.6 yards), ranking second in the Pac-10 and sixth nationally.

As a senior, Anger recorded a 44.2 punt average (fifth in school history). He finished second in school history and sixth in Pac-12 conference history in career gross punting average. Anger became the second player in school history to receive first-team all-conference honors for three consecutive seasons, matching Alex Mack's (2006–08) achievement. Anger was invited to the 2012 East–West Shrine Game, where he averaged 60.0 yards per punt on three attempts for the West team.

In four years, Anger never missed a game (51), totaling 255 punts for 11,094 yards, 72 punts of 50 or more yards, 90 punts downed inside the 20, a 43.5 average and a 38.2 net average.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Anger was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round (70th overall) of the 2012 NFL draft. He became the highest drafted punter since Todd Sauerbrun was chosen 56th overall in 1995,  and the first punter drafted by the Jaguars since 2007. A day later on April 29, the Jaguars cut punters Nick Harris and Spencer Lanning. Like Anger, Harris also played collegiately at California.

As a rookie, Anger punted 91 times for 4,353 yards and a 47.8 average. His 47.8 yards per punt was second in the league. Anger was named to All-Rookie teams by CBS Sports, ESPN, Pro Football Weekly and many other media outlets. Anger also received a vote for the 2012 All-Pro Team as voted on by the Associated Press.

In 2013, Anger punted 95 times for 4,338 yards and a 45.66 average. He also led the league in punts and punting yards with 95 and 4,338, respectively.

In 2014, Anger punted 94 times for a career-high 4,464 yards and a league-leading 47.5 average. His 4,464 punting yards ranked second in the league that year.

In 2015, Anger punted 80 times for 3,700 yards and a 46.3 average.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On March 22, 2016, Anger signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Anger won the starting punting job after the team released Jake Schum.

On December 31, 2016, Anger signed a five-year, $17 million contract extension with the Buccaneers through the 2021 season. The following day against the Carolina Panthers in the regular-season finale, he punted five times for 229 yards and landed all five punts inside the 20-yard line as the Buccaneers narrowly won by a score of 17-16. He was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. Anger finished the 2016 season with 70 punts for 3,215 yards for a 45.93 average.

In the 2017 season, Anger had 65 punts for 2,857 yards for a 43.95 average.

In the 2018 season, Anger had 57 punts for 2,567 for a 45.04 average.

On March 13, 2019, Anger was released by the Buccaneers.

Houston Texans
On July 23, 2019, Anger signed with the Houston Texans. On August 30, 2019, Anger was released. However, he was re-signed on September 17, 2019 after the team cut Trevor Daniel.

On December 28, 2019, Anger was signed to a three-year contract extension. He finished the season with 45 punts for 2,094 yards.

In the 2020 season, Anger had 54 punts for 2,505 for a 46.38 average.

On March 18, 2021, Anger was released by the Texans.

Dallas Cowboys
On April 7, 2021, Anger signed a one-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys.

After punting 65 times for 3,143 yards and a 48.4 average in the 2021 season, Anger was named for the 2022 Pro Bowl, his first selection. He was also named second-team All-Pro. In the Wild Card round against the San Francisco 49ers, Anger punted five times for 268 yards and had a 16-yard completion in the 23-17 loss.

On March 22, 2022, Anger re-signed with the Cowboys on a three-year, $9 million contract. He finished the 2022 season with 68 punts for 3,291 yards and a 48.4 average.

Personal life
Shortly after Anger was selected by the Jaguars, NFL Network host Rich Eisen exclaimed, "Punters are people too!" Eisen had Anger as a guest on his podcast and presented him with a shirt containing that exclamation. Nevertheless, the Jaguars have received much criticism from fans and football experts for drafting a punter ahead of future Super Bowl winning quarterback Russell Wilson, although the Jaguars publicly said that they never considered drafting Wilson due to having 2011 first-round pick Blaine Gabbert.

Due to his powerful leg, Anger's Jacksonville teammates gave him the nickname Banger.