Jets' Thomas Morstead, Team Gleason Foundation Partnering For Important Cause

The offseason is here for the New York Jets but there still is plenty to follow about this team even with the regular season over.

The Jets are going to be one of the most interesting teams to read about throughout the offseason as they have many questions that will be answered. The season didn't go as planned and there has been a lot of negative chatter since. If you are looking for some positive, look no further than Jets veteran punter Thomas Morstead.

The 38-year-old 16-year National Football League veteran has seen it all throughout his career. He has been a Pro Bowler, he has won a Super Bowl, and he has had some heartbreaking losses throughout his career. As good as he has been on the field, he is doing something even better off of it.

Morstead partnered with the Team Gleason Foundation for "Punt for ALS." Throughout the season, Morstead committed to donating $1,000 for every punt he landed inside the 20-yard line this season. He finished the season with 19 such punts.

Morstead opened up about the partnership in an exclusive interview with New York Jets on Sports Illustrated.

"'Punt for ALS' is the campaign that we are running and the organization is Team Gleason which is Steve Gleason's organization that he started down in New Orleans in 2011 when he publicly announced that he had ALS," Morstead said. "He's meant a lot to me over the course of my career as a Saint in New Orleans but even more so over my past four years of playing on other teams and kind of his spirit of perseverance and resilience and all of that stuff.

"Just something I wanted to do for him to raise money and it has been a great fundraiser throughout the season. It's not over yet, we're going to leave it up all the way to the Super Bowl so it's been really good."

The Team Gleason Foundation has done immense work for research revolving around ALS. Over the years, some progress has been made including the Steve Gleason Act in 2015, an extension with the Steve Gleason Enduring Voices Act in 2018, eye-tracking technology for power wheelchairs was developed thanks to the pushing of the foundation, and countless donations have been raised for research. All of this information and more can be found on the foundation's website here.

Morstead and "Punt for ALS" have been a big hit. The campaign has raised nearly half of its $100,000 goal and there's still time left. Plus, to make things even better for fans, Morstead will be giving away two Super Bowl tickets to a donor to the campaign.

"Team Gleason in general is doing God's work, I would say," Morstead said. "They are a really, really efficiently run organization that is helping people living with ALS continue to live. Whether it's through technology, or getting ALS patients computer screens that allow them to communicate with their eyes so they can continue to conversate with people when they lose their voice. They provide families with resources...They help families save the precious time they have.

"They do awesome work and I am proud to be doing this small, little thing with them. If anybody wants to continue to donate, that can just keep up with the post over the next few weeks and I am giving away my Super Bowl tickets right after the AFC/NFC Championship games so there will be ways for people to contribute."

Another way people can contribute is with the upcoming "Gleason Celebrity Golf Classic" on Feb. 6 hosted by Gleason and featuring people like Morstead, Chris Berman, Sean Payton, Roman Harper, and many others.

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