Sam Paulescu Samuel Paulescu ( born April 18 , 1984 ) is an American football punter who is currently a free agent . He was signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as a street free agent in 2006 . He played college football at Oregon State . Paulescu has also been a member of the Dallas Cowboys , Denver Broncos , Tampa Bay Buccaneers , Washington Redskins , and San Francisco 49ers . Early years . Born in Los Angeles , California to Romanian immigrant parents Nick and Persida Paulescu , he was fluent in Romanian before he could speak English . Paulescu played soccer , track and football at Whittier Christian High School in La Habra , California . He earned four letters in football and soccer , and two in track and field . He kicked a prep career - best 43 - yard field goal as a junior , also scored 17 goals in soccer as a junior . In addition to kicking , Paulescu also played wide receiver , running back and defensive back . He was team defensive MVP as a senior and a first - team All - Olympic League in 2001 as a kicker . Sam played in the 605 All - Star game in the summer of 2002 . As a junior , he scored three touchdowns , intercepted two passes and kicked a 43 - yard field goal in one game . College career . Paulescu earned first - team All - American honors as a punter and place - kicker at Fullerton College under head coach Gene Murphy in 2003 . He was selected first team All - American by J . C . Grid - Wire and by J . C . Athletic Bureau , earned first team All - Mission Conference ; first team all - California J . C . Region IV , and first team All - California as selected by the California Community College Football Coaches Association . As a place - kicker , Paulescu was the fifth - leading scorer among California Junior College players . He scored 73 points in 10 games ( 37 - 37 PAT , 12 - 17 FGs ) booted a 57 - yard field goal against Santa Monica , and was perfect on all three attempts over 41 yards . Paulescu made a 25 - yarder in overtime to give Fullerton a 24 - 21 win over Riverside on Nov . 15 . As a punter , he averaged 45 . 6 yards on 46 attempts during the regular season , with a long of 84 yards , raising his average to 46 . 5 yards after three playoff games . Paulescu also bettered his all - time long punt with an 86 - yarder against Santa Monica in the Nov . 22 U . S . Bank Beach Bowl . As a freshman in 2002 , he averaged 36 . 7 yards on 53 punts . Paulescu ’ s special teams coach at Fullerton was Jim Wren , who was USC ’ s punter in 1996 when Mike Riley was the offensive coordinator . In his two years at Oregon State Paulescu ended his career as arguably the top punter in the program ’ s history . He was named to the Pac - 10 All - Conference First Team as a senior , marking the first punter in OSU history to earn such lofty accolades . Paulescu averaged 43 yards per punt as a senior and ended his OSU career with 48 punts downed inside the 20 - yard line – 24 each season . Of note : Pac - 10 Special Teams Player of the Week in 2005 after having six punts downed inside the 20 , including two at the 1 - yard line , in a win at No . 18 California ; 21 punts of 50 - plus yards during his career , including a career - best of 69 yards vs . Washington State in 2004 ; began his senior year on the Ray Guy Award watch list ; honorable mention All - Pac - 10 as a junior and OSU Special Teams Co - MVP . Professional career . Dallas Cowboys . He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after not being drafted in the 2007 NFL Draft . He was released before the 2007 season after not beating out Mat McBriar for the starting punting job . Denver Broncos . On December 28 , 2007 the Denver Broncos signed him after releasing Paul Ernster . Paulescu made his debut in week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings , making five punts for a total of 221 yards . On August 30 , 2008 Paulescu was released by the Broncos . Return to Dallas Cowboys . Paulescu was signed on October 14 , 2008 as a replacement for McBriar , who suffered a broken foot against the Arizona Cardinals and was placed on injured reserve . During a home game against Tampa Bay while replacing McBriar , Paulescu delivered a hard tackle on returner , Clifton Smith , at midfield . Paulescu was released at the end of the season . Washington Redskins . Paulescu signed with the Washington Redskins on November 6 , 2009 . After punting in one game on November 8 against the Atlanta Falcons ( 3 punts , averaging 50 yards per punt ) , he was waived on November 14 . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Paulescu was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 1 , 2009 due to the injury of Dirk Johnson . He was waived on April 26 , 2010 . Return to Washington Redskins . Paulescu was signed for a second stint with the Washington Redskins on December 14 , 2010 . He replaced Hunter Smith , who was cut from the team the same day . He was released on July 28 , 2011 . San Francisco 49ers . On August 22 , 2011 , Paulescu signed with the San Francisco 49ers . He was waived on August 30 .