2 punters added; is Sander on way out?

At a very young age Ryan Dutton found out he was capable of punting at Lambeau Field.
Dutton, an Oshkosh native, participated in four Punt, Pass & Kick competitions at Lambeau Field when he was a child. He won three times and finished second once.

“I did pretty well,” Dutton said. “Obviously, growing up in Oshkosh, I was a huge Packers fan, so getting to do anything at Lambeau Field was pretty exciting for me.”

The Packers announced the signing of Dutton and six other players to reserve/future contracts on Tuesday. Dutton was with the Cleveland Browns during the 2004 training camp and was with the Seattle Seahawks during training camp in 2005 but never made the active roster. Dutton is thrilled to have the chance to play for the team that he rooted for as a child.
“It’s been tough the last few seasons because I feel like I’ve been close,” Dutton said. “But everything happens for a reason, so we’ll just see what happens.”




Dutton will have plenty of competition in attempting to earn a spot on the roster. The Packers also announced the signing of Jon Ryan on Tuesday. Ryan led the Canadian Football League last season with a 50.6 gross average and a 42.3 net average for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Ryan had considerable interest from other teams, including the New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals, but opted to sign with the Packers.

With the addition of Ryan and Dutton, it is looking like B.J. Sander’s days in Green Bay could be numbered. After a solid start in 2005, Sander struggled during the second half of the season. Sander was 30th in the NFL with a gross average of 39.2 yards and was 34th in net average with a 34.5 average. He missed the final two games with a bruised knee. With a salary cap number of $530,906, Sander will have to be significantly better than Ryan, Dutton and Ryan Flinn if he’s going to be the Packers’ punter again in 2006.

“You’ve got to be patient with punters,” Packers special teams coordinator Mike Stock said last week. “But you’ve got to make sure you have the right guy in there.”
Stock may be the biggest reason why Dutton wound up signing with the Packers.
“He tried to sign me when he was with St. Louis,” Dutton said. “It didn’t work out, but I’m definitely familiar with him.”

One other thing Dutton has working to his advantage is his experience as a holder, a job that Sander struggled with at times last season. Dutton held in NFL Europe last season and in college when he played quarterback at NCAA Division II Minnesota State-Mankato.
“He played quarterback in college and played baseball in college,” said Mark Mersel, Dutton’s agent. “He has very good hands.”

Dutton said he will be in Green Bay on Thursday to work out for Stock. Then, it will be determined if Dutton will return to NFL Europe, which Dutton said appears “very, very likely.”
“I don’t know if the recent signings will change that, but it certainly looks that way,” Dutton said. “The good thing this year is that the season starts earlier, so I would only miss one of the (three) minicamps.”

In addition to the two punters, the Packers also signed guard Pete Traynor, wide receiver Willie Quinnie, defensive tackle Jerome Nichols, tight end Thomas Gafford and center Wayne Lucier.
Lucier is the only player among that group with significant NFL experience. Lucier started for much of the 2003 and 2004 seasons at center and guard for the New York Giants but was cut at the end of training camp last year and spent 2005 out of football.

Traynor, a Milton native, has played the last three seasons with the Quad City Steamwheelers of arenafootball2.

Quinnie has spent time with the San Diego Chargers, Atlanta Falcons and Oakland Raiders over the last three seasons but has never made an active roster.

Dylan B. Tomlinson writes for The Post-Crescent of Appleton. E-mail him at dtomlinson@postcrescent.com.