Tress Way

Tressler William Way (born April 18, 1990) is an American football punter for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma and was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2013.

Tress Way
refer to caption
Way with the Commanders in 2022
No. 5 – Washington Commanders
Position:Punter
Personal information
Born: (1990-04-18) April 18, 1990
Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:Union (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
College:Oklahoma (2008–2012)
Undrafted:2013
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2023
Games played:152
Punts:688
Punting yards:32,349
Punting average:47.0
Inside 20:256
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early life

Born Tresslar William Way in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Way attended Union High School in Tulsa and graduated in 2008.[1] While at Union High School, he played high school football for Union.[2]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Tress Way
K		 Tulsa, OK Union HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jun 24, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #12 (national K), #1 (OK K), #11 (school)   Rivals: #17 (K), #17 (OK), #6 (school)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2008 Oklahoma Football Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  • "2008 Oklahoma College Football Recruiting Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  • "Oklahoma Sooners 2008 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  • "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 1, 2015.

College career

Way attended the University of Oklahoma and redshirted his freshman season with the Oklahoma Sooners football team.[3] He then played in 53 games from the 2009 to 2012 seasons. Way averaged 44.0 yards per punt with a career long of 85. Way switched to punter after an unsuccessful stint at kicker. Of Way's 250 punts, 91 went inside the 20, 71 were for 50 or more yards, and 36 were touchbacks.[1] Way completed his bachelor's degree at Oklahoma in interdisciplinary studies in December 2012.[4][1]

College statistics
Season Punting
PuntsYdsAvg
2009 612,78745.7
2010 733,21244
2011 632,64942
2012 532,34044.2
Career25010,98844

Professional career
Way at Chicago Bears training camp in 2014

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears signed Way as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2013. He was brought in to challenge veteran Adam Podlesh. The Bears waived him on August 25, 2013.[5]

He re-signed with the Bears for the 2014 offseason, but he was waived again after losing out to rookie Pat O'Donnell on August 18, 2014.[6]

Washington Redskins / Football Team / Commanders
Tress Way in a game against the Carolina Panthers in 2018

The Washington Redskins claimed Way off waivers on August 20, 2014.[7] In his first preseason game with the team, he recorded an average of 45.3 yards off of four punts.[8] He became their starting punter for the 2014 season following the release of Robert Malone. For the 2014 season, Way led the NFL in gross punting average with 47.5 yards.[9] He finished his rookie season with 77 punts with a 47.52 average.[10]

At the start of the 2015 season, Way was voted as the team's special teams captain.[11] Overall, he finished the 2015 season with 70 punts for a 46.6 average.[12]

On March 4, 2016, the Redskins extended a tender to Way.[13] The Redskins later signed him to a five-year contract extension on March 12.[14] He finished the 2016 season with 49 punts for a 45.08 average.[15]

In the 2017 season, Way finished with 83 punts for a 45.7 average.[16]

In Week 10 of the 2018 season, Way punted five times for a net average of 47.8, downing four punts inside the 20-yard line, in a 16–3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, earning him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[17] Overall, Way finished the 2018 season with 79 punts for a 45.33 average.[18]

In Week 13 of the 2019 season, Way hit two of his five punts inside the 20 with an average of 58 yards per punt and a long of 79 yards in a 29–21 win over the Carolina Panthers, earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[19] For his performance in 2019, Way was voted to the 2020 Pro Bowl, as well as being named second-team All-Pro.[20][21] On December 27, 2019, Way signed a four-year, $15 million contract extension.[22] He finished the 2019 season with 79 punts for a 49.61 average.[23] In the 2019 season, he led the NFL in yards per punt. In addition, he recorded the longest punt of the 2019 season with a 79-yarder.[24] He was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time.[25]

In Week 11 of the 2020 season against the Cincinnati Bengals, Way punted five times with a gross average of 50.4 yards while landing three of them inside the 20 during the 20–9 win, later earning the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award.[26] In Week 14 against the San Francisco 49ers, Way averaged 49.8 yards on 8 punts during the 23–15 win. Way was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Week 14.[27] In the 2020 season, Way appeared in all 16 games. He recorded 73 total punts for a 48.00 average.[28]

In the 2021 season, Way played in 16 games. He recorded 60 total punts for a 48.35 average.[29]

Way was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October 2022.[30] In the 2022 season, Way recorded 83 punts with a 46.81 average.[31] In December 2022, Way was voted into the 2023 Pro Bowl.[32]

NFL statistics
Tress Way
Year Tm G Pnt Yds Y/P
2014 WAS 16 77 3,659 47.5
2015 WAS 16 70 3,224 46.1
2016 WAS 16 49 2,209 45.1
2017 WAS 16 83 3,794 45.7
2018 WAS 16 79 3,581 45.3
2019 WAS 16 79 3,919 49.6
2020 WAS 16 73 3,504 48.0
2021 WAS 16 60 2,901 48.4
2022 WAS 17 83 3,885 46.8
Career 145 653 30,676 47.0

Personal life

In 2013, Way married Brianna Turang, a softball and soccer player at the University of Oklahoma and daughter of former Major League Baseball outfielder Brian Turang.[33][34][35] Way is a Christian.[36]

References
  1. "Tress Way". Oklahoma Sooners. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  2. "Tress Way, Union , Punter". 247Sports. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  3. "Tress Way College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  4. @Tress_Way (April 22, 2013). "@Chazparadiddle5 no I graduated" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. "Bears Cut 14 From Roster". CBS News. August 25, 2013. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  6. "Bears waive P Tress Way, sign KR/PR Darius Reynaud". CSN Chicago. August 18, 2014. Archived from the original on August 22, 2014.
  7. Jones, Mike (August 20, 2014). "Redskins claim former Bears punter Tress Way on waivers". WashingtonPost.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  8. "Redskins New Punter Tress Way Used to Team's Name Debate". WUSA. Associated Press. September 1, 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  9. Clarke, Liz (December 30, 2014). "Redskins punter Tress Way: A bright spot on a bad team". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 16, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  10. "Tress Way 2014 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  11. Jones, Mike (September 9, 2015). "Redskins pick Trent Williams, Dashon Goldson and Tress Way as captains". WashingtonPost.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  12. "Tress Way 2015 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  13. Walker, Andrew (March 4, 2016). "Report: Redskins Extend Tenders To Compton, Thompson, Way". Washington Football Team. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  14. Walker, Andrew (March 12, 2016). "Redskins Sign Punter Tress Way To Five-Year Contract". Washington Football Team. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  15. "Tress Way 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  16. "Tress Way 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  17. Bergman, Jeremy (November 14, 2018). "Ben Roethlisberger, Mitch Trubisky among Players of the Week". NFL.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  18. "Tress Way 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  19. Bergman, Jeremy (December 4, 2019). "Deshaun Watson, Jared Goff among Players of the Week". NFL.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  20. "Tress Way, Brandon Scherff Named To 2020 Pro Bowl". Washington Football Team. December 17, 2019. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  21. Neel, Zachary (January 3, 2020). "Redskins punter Tress Way named to AP NFL All-Pro second-team". Redskins Wire. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  22. Shook, Nick (December 27, 2019). "Redskins, Tress Way agree to 4-yr, $15M extension". NFL.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  23. "Tress Way 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  24. "2019 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  25. "2019 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  26. Gordon, Grant (November 25, 2020). "Texans QB Deshaun Watson, Rams WR Robert Woods lead Players of the Week". NFL.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  27. Gordon, Grant (December 16, 2020). "Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, Rams RB Cam Akers lead Players of the Week". NFL.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  28. "Tress Way 2020 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  29. "Tress Way 2021 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  30. "NFL announces AFC, NFC players of month for October". Crescent City Sports. November 3, 2022. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  31. "Tress Way 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  32. "Jonathan Allen, Tress Way, Jeremy Reaves and Terry McLaurin named to 2023 Pro Bowl". Commanders.com. December 21, 2022. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  33. Kuzydym, Stephanie (June 16, 2013). "VIDEO: The Engagement of Tress Way and Brianna Turang". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  34. "Brianna Turang Profile". Oklahoma Sooners Athletics. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  35. Dybas, Todd (September 1, 2014). "New punter Way has a Redskins past". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  36. "Trusting God's Way". FCA.org. Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
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