Former Seahawks punter Rick Tuten dead at 52

SEATTLE – Former Seattle Seahawks punter Rick “Bootin’” Tuten died unexplectedly in Costa Rica earlier this week, according to a report in the Ocala Star-Banner.

There were no details on his cause of death.

Tuten, 52, is near the top of the Seahawks record books in most punting categories. His death comes three weeks after that of former teammate Cortez Kennedy.

He’s second all time behind Jon Ryan in: total punts (554), punting yards (24,266) and longest punt (73 yards), and third all time in yards per punt at 43.8. He’d be second all time in that category as well, but former Seahawks running back has one punt for 54 yards.

Tuten was a fan favorite during one of the team’s darkest eras, spanning seven seasons from 1991-1997.