South Carolina Football: Former All-SEC Gamecock signs with Cleveland

Several former South Carolina football players have signed NFL contracts since the end of the 2023 NFL Draft. However, just one of those players has already been in the NFL. Joseph Charlton, an undrafted free agent signing of the Carolina Panthers in 2020, has been in the league since that time, primarily with Carolina, but also with stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, and Cleveland Browns. Now, the Browns are bringing the talented punter back to Cleveland.

Charlton is one of the best punters in Gamecock football history. He ranks in the top-3 of all Gamecock punters in average yards per punt and punts downed inside the 20 in a career. He made an All-SEC team in both 2018 and 2019 as he averaged 45 yards per punt and 47 yards per punt, respectively, in those seasons.

Since graduating, Charlton has played in 21 games at the NFL level, 20 of them with the Panthers. His NFL numbers are impressive, as well, as Charlton has kicked for an average of about 45 yards per punt and landed almost half of his punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

With Cleveland again, Charlton will battle with the punter who took his job in 2022. Incumbent starting punter Corey Bojorquez had an excellent 2022 season in which he punted for almost 49 yards per kick. He also booted the longest punts of the NFL season in 2020 (72 yards) and 2021 (82 yards). 2022 was his first year with the Cleveland Browns and his fifth season in the NFL. While his 2022 and 2020 seasons were elite, his career punting averages look very similar to Charlton’s, so the competition for the job in Cleveland could be a tight one.

Charlton is talented enough that if things do not work out in Cleveland, he will likely be picked up by another franchise.