Longtime Seattle Seahawks punter Jon Ryan, who last played in the NFL in 2017, signed a one-day contract with the team on Tuesday in order to officially retire as a member of the organization.
Ryan, 42, punted for the Seahawks from 2008-17 after spending his first two NFL seasons with the Green Bay Packers. Ironically, his most famous moment as a pro came against Green Bay in the 2014 NFC Championship Game.
With Seattle trailing 16-0 in the third quarter, Ryan, the Seahawks’ holder, threw a 19-yard fake field goal touchdown pass to tackle Garry Gilliam, sparking his team to a 28-22 overtime win and a berth in Super Bowl XLIX.
Punter Jon Ryan with the TOUCHDOWN PASS, in the NFC Championship, in Seattle, down 16-0 to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers…
CAUGHT BY offensive tackle Garry Gilliam.
ON A fake field goal.
This Seahawks comeback was the best in history. TO THE SUPERBOWL! pic.twitter.com/iVNcbjRXM9
— Sami ON Tap (@SamiOnTap) June 27, 2023
A native of Regina, Saskatchewan and a University of Regina alum, Ryan finished his career with a punting average of 44.7 yards per attempt and a net punting average of 38.4 yards. He dropped 34% of his all-time punts inside the 20-yard line.
“The people in Seattle, the people in Washington, the people in the Pacific Northwest have accepted a fair-skinned, freckle-faced redheaded kid from Canada with a speech impediment who punts a football, and made him feel like a super star… You guys are the greatest fans in the world,” Ryan said, via the Seahawks team website.
Ryan also won a Super Bowl ring with the Seahawks in Super Bowl LVIII. He retires as a franchise record-holder in several major punting categories.