Blake Gillikin

Blake Thomas Gillikin (born January 21, 1998) is an American professional football punter for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Gillikin is second in NFL history in yards per punt .

Early life A former resident of Smyrna, Georgia, Gillikin helped lead The Westminster Schools to its first GHSA Football Class AAA Georgia State Championship since 1978 in 2015, and was rated as a five-star punter and a five-star kicker by Kohl's Kicking Camp.

College career A four-year starter at Penn State, Gillikin is ranked No. 2 on Penn State's career punting average charts (43.03 avg.) He landed 53 career punts downed inside the opponent's ten-yard line (seven in 2016, 18 in 2017, 12 in 2018, 15 in 2019) and is the only player in program history with seven punts of 65 or more yards. Gillikin is second all time in net punting yards in school history behind Jeremy Kapinos. In 2019, Gillikin averaged 42.2 yards per punt as was selected All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention by the conference coaches and media. Was also selected for the CoSIDA Academic All-American first-team.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints Gillikin signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent on April 27, 2020. He was placed on injured reserve on September 9.

Gillikin was named the Saints starting punter for the 2021 season after the team released longtime starter Thomas Morstead in the offseason.

Gillikin did not receive a qualifying offer following the 2022 season and became a free agent on March 15, 2023. On March 16, Gillikin re-signed with the Saints. He was waived on August 29, after losing the punting battle to Lou Hedley.

Arizona Cardinals On October 3, 2023, Gillikin was signed by the Arizona Cardinals.

In Week 9 of the 2024 season, Gillikin punted four times with three inside the 20-yard line in a 29-9 win over the Chicago Bears, earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

On October 11, 2025, Gillikin was placed on injured reserve due to a lingering back injury.

On March 8, 2026, Gillikin re-signed with the Cardinals on a one-year contract.

NFL career statistics LegendLed the leagueBoldCareer high

Regular season Year Team GP Punting Punts Yds Lng Avg Blk Ins20 RetY2021 NOR 17 83 3,956 63 47.7 0 29 4172022 NOR 17 77 3,571 68 46.4 0 32 2322023 ARI 13 51 2,580 77 50.6 0 11 3182024 ARI 13 38 1,887 63 49.7 0 19 1832025 ARI 5 22 1,138 63 51.7 0 8 99 Career 65 271 13,132 77 48.5 0 99 1,249