The Browns have re-signed exclusive rights free agent punter Spencer Lanning, general manager Ray Farmer announced Friday.
Lanning, 26, averaged 44.3 yards per punt during the 2014 season, a career high. Twenty-five of his 93 punts landed inside the 20-yard line, including an NFL-high five against the Colts. Lanning's net average was 39.2, also a career high, and Cleveland ranked 15th in the league in the category.
Lanning's high-hanging punts teamed up well with gunners Marlon Moore and Johnson Bademosi. The Browns allowed just 7 yards per punt return, good for 8th in the NFL.
"I think he's playing well," special teams coordinator Chris Tabor said in December. "I think he's playing at a high level. He's doing everything we're asking him to do and then some, so hopefully I think it will continue. I have confidence that it will."
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Originally signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2011, Lanning made his NFL debut with the Browns in 2013.
Lanning handled kickoff duties Week 14 against the Indianapolis Colts, so newly signed kicker Garrett Hartley could focus solely on field goals.
Lanning's career highlight came in 2013 against the Minnesota Vikings, when he threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Cameron on a fake field goal. Lanning became the first Steve Spurrier-coached player at South Carolina to throw a touchdown pass in a NFL game. Related link: Lanning does his best Galileo impression this offseason
