DeMeco Ryans Explains Why Texans' Punter Competition Is 'Hot and Heavy'

The Houston Texans have a handful of position battles to unravel throughout the course of training camp in the coming weeks.

But one of the more intriguing battles of the Texans' roster lies within their punting unit.

After the departure of Tommy Townsend earlier this offseason— their starting punter from the last two seasons— Houston has left a competition up to two names who have been brought in from this offseason.

One of the names entering the mix has been Kai Kroeger, who was with the New Orleans Saints for his rookie season in 2025, and the other was undrafted free agent signing Jack Stonehouse, who comes fresh off of two years with Syracuse to now try and make the jump to be a starting punter in the NFL for 2026.

And just a couple days into training camp, it seems as if this punting battle is off to a pretty hot start.

What DeMeco Ryans Said About the Texans' Punting Competition

Following the second day of training camp practice, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans described what the battle currently looks like between both Kroeger and Stonehouse, calling it a "tight competition" that's "hot and heavy."

"Our punting competition is hot and heavy right now," Ryans said. "Both Kai [Kroeger] and [Jack] Stonehouse, they both had really good springs coming out. Seeing both guys today, they're picking up right where they left off. So, it's going to be a really tight competition."

There's a good bit of similarity between both candidates. Kroeger and Stonehouse are each 23 years old with a bit less experience compared to some of the other veteran punters on the market, but are looking to find some traction for a Texans team that punted a considerable amount in 2025.

Last season with the Saints, Kroeger punted 56 times for an average of 44.8 yards per punt. Stonehouse at Syracuse last season, however, punted 59 times for an average of 47.1 yards per punt, and an ACC-leading 2,780 yards throughout the year.

Jun 10, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans punter Kai Kroeger participates in a drill during the team’s minicamp at Houston Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As to what Ryans is looking for out of both guys through the next few weeks, the one key word he used was "consistency."

That's especially so when the Texans are looking to pin opposing teams deep in plus-50 situations, which can pay off in a major way when factoring in how this defense can operate when offenses have their back against the wall in their own territory.

"What you look for at that spot, you're looking for consistency," Ryans said of the Texans' punting competition. "And that's what both guys are working for, is getting the consistency in ball placement, especially when we're at plus-50. Like, how are you executing those plus-50 punts? We know those are huge for us when we can get backed-up opportunities."

"So, seeing how both guys compete out here in practice. And also, we have the evaluation of the preseason games. And we'll go through that, and see which way we'll go; which guy will win. But both guys have done outstanding jobs so far."

There's a ton of time to go for both punters to establish a bit of a lead for themselves in this race to be named the Texans' Week 1 starter. And really, a lot of the determining factors when it comes to who gets the edge to go their way might just rely upon how they perform in-game during their three preseason matchups in August.

But so far, Ryans seems like he's liking what he's seen out of both––which is a good sign to be had, nonetheless.

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