Las Vegas Raiders Punter AJ Cole Relishes NFL Pro Bowl Experience

LAS VEGAS, NV – It’s not often punters in the NFL receive so much attention in the days leading up to the game, but such was the case with Las Vegas Raiders punter AJ Cole as he prepares to play in his first-ever NFL Pro Bowl this Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.

Cole was always one of the first players to take to the practice field at Las Vegas Ballpark in Downtown Summerlin and amongst the last to leave as he was often seen bouncing around the sidelines interacting with fans.

“This has just been an awesome experience for me,” Cole described of his first Pro Bowl experience. “Las Vegas has become a sports city and I’m really enjoying seeing a lot of fans out there. There’s a lot of Raiders support here.”

The third-year pro is coming off his best season in the NFL as he led the league in average yards per punt (50) and net average (42.5) with 28 downs inside the 20-yard line.

“The fans we’ve got in Las Vegas have a great understanding of punting because they’ve had a long history of good punters from Ray Guy to Shane Lechler and everyone in between,” said him. “That helps it so people can recognize when I’m playing good or bad.”

One of the biggest takeaways from this week though has been his experience with his peers and practicing alongside the best players in the league.

“It’s great to get to know a lot of these guys,” explained Cole. “These are the people you’re playing week in and week out. To actually get a chance to get to know them is really cool and it’s going to make competing against these guys over the next few years that much more fun.”

During the special teams portion each day the time practiced several trick plays, including one which saw Cole make a sliding catch in the end zone on a pass from Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce.

“We’re going to expect the unexpected,” Cole said with a smile when asked if we would see any of those trick plays during the game. “We’re going to go out there and make some plays to win the game.”

On the final day of practices, a young soccer player looking to make the transition to a football kicker sought the advice from Cole on sidelines and he was the happy to offer some pointers.

“I was just giving him a few pointers on how to drop the ball, hold it and hope for the best,” he added. “Just some of the basic fundamentals.”

Cole could be seen laughing and smiling throughout practices during NFL Pro Bowl Week and sharing tips with other young athletes shows his commitment to growing the game.

“We’ve got such awesome fans and getting the chance to interact with them over these last few days has been really cool,” he added.

Look for Cole to get in the mix this Sunday in some kind of way. Whether it is doing his part in the field position battle or converting a memorable trick play.