The Packers Kept a Plane Ready in Case Punter JK Scott’s Wife Went Into Labor
There was no way JK Scott was going to miss the birth of his first child.
The Packers punter and his wife, Sydney, are expecting to welcome a baby any day now, which proved worrisome when Scott traveled to Foxborough this weekend for a Sunday Night Football matchup with the Patriots. But Green Bay put a plan in place to make sure Scott could be back in Wisconsin if Sydney went into labor.
During the game, the Packers had a plane fueled up and waiting at a nearby airport, ready to fly Scott back to the Midwest if he got the phone call he was waiting for, according to the team website. And if that call did come, the team even had a backup plan at punter.
Green Bay had two open roster spots after trading away Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Ty Montgomery at the deadline. One was used to promote running back Tra Carson from the practice squad. The other was used to bring in punter Drew Kaser, formerly of the Chargers, to act as an insurance policy in case Scott was called away by the obligations of fatherhood.
“It was awesome,” Scott told the team site. “[General manager] Brian Gutekunst, he pulled me aside and was talking to me, and really caring about me with this baby and my wife. It was cool they would do that for me. Everything was ready for me if the baby came.”
The call never came, though, and Scott handled all five punts on Sunday night in New England. He said he and his wife are planning to induce labor this week, so he won’t be forced to speed away from Lambeau Field in the middle of the team’s Week 10 game against the Dolphins. He will be punting on very little sleep, though.
