KaVontae Turpin is now the highest paid special teams player in NFL history. The Dallas Cowboys just agreed to a new three-year $18 million contract with their two-time Pro Bowl talent and former New Jersey Generals League MVP.
Turpin’s Outstanding Season
One of the few bright spots for the Cowboys this past season, Turpin provided some of the team’s most electrifying moments as a kick return specialist. Scoring a 60-yard punt return touchdown in Week 2, Turpin put the NFL on notice that he was a force to be reckoned with.
It was Turpin’s first career touchdown return for the Cowboys. Later in the season, he scored the NFL’s longest kickoff return with a thrilling 99-yarder against the Washington Commanders.
But Turpin’s big plays weren’t limited to special teams. Making spectacular plays, he also excelled as a wide receiver. In a game against the Houston Texans, Turpin caught a 64-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cooper Rush. Turpin turned on the afterburners. He torched the Texans defense flying upfield at a speed of more than 22 mph. In addition, that same night, Turpin surpassed 1,000 All-Purpose yards for the season. He would go on to have more than 1,500 yards.
As a wide receiver, Turpin finished the year with 31 receptions for 420 yards with two touchdowns. He had 18 punt returns for 187 yards with one touchdown. As a kickoff return specialist, he had 27 returns for 904 yards with one touchdown.
In addition to his talents as a return specialist and wide receiver, Turpin is equally talented as a running back. He became only the second Dallas player to record a rushing touchdown, receiving touchdown, kickoff return touchdown and punt return touchdown in the same season. As a result of his outstanding record breaking season, Turpin was named to the Pro Bowl for the second straight year.
Smashing Records
Setting records is nothing new for Turpin. A graduate of TCU, he set a record in college scoring six special teams touchdowns. An exceptional talent in every aspect of his game, Turpin has now smashed another record, becoming the NFL’s highest paid special teams player with this contract..
1 Comment
by Ken Granito
I am very happy for Kavonte Turpin. I think he respects it more with all he had to go through to get it. Keep it up Kavonte!
Now back to my soap box. Kavonte Turpin and Adrian Martinez make up 2 of a possible 3 MVPs that Mike Riley could be part of. Though the quarterback whisperer Skip Holtz coach Martinez to the MVP, during the USFL draft, he skipped on Martinez twice, whereby Riley picked him with his first pick. It’s interesting that the league brags about getting players to the NFL, which Mike Riley has done, yet Mike Riley is nowhere to be seen. I hope he still has the desire to coach and is able to coach and will be coaching the Generals in New Jersey next year. As much as he is able to coach stars such as Kavonte Turpin, Luis Perez, Darius Victor, Darrius Sheppard, Alonzo Moore as well as finding Dakota Prukop who went back to the CFL after the Generals disbanded and has since retired and became a Stampeders coach. All this and he brags about how he found his last placekicker Nick Skiba. All this and he has about 40 years of coaching experience in the NFL, major college, the CFL, the UFL and is now part of the College Football playoff selection committee. If he still wants to coach, please let him coach and best to do it as part of the Generals. As the league fights for ticket sales, it only makes sense to have the Generals in New Jersey and Mike Riley with the Generals. I still can’t imagine what he would have done with AJ McCarron and the rest of the Battlehawks offense.