Dallas Cowboys Royals was signed as an
undrafted free agent by the
Dallas Cowboys after the
1986 NFL draft. On August 8, he was released before the start of the season, after not being able to pass incumbent
Mike Saxon on the depth chart.
St. Louis Cardinals (first stint) On September 30, 1987, he signed as a replacement player with the
St. Louis Cardinals, after the
NFLPA strike was declared on the third week of the season. In the first strike game against the
Washington Redskins, he made six punts for 222 yards (37-yard average). On October 9, he was released after starter
Greg Cater crossed the picket line.
Philadelphia Eagles On October 14, 1987, he signed as a replacement player with the
Philadelphia Eagles, to help solve the kicking problems the team was having. He played in one game against the
Green Bay Packers, hitting six punts for a 41.8-yard average. He was cut on October 19, at the end of the strike.
Phoenix Cardinals (second stint) On April 1, 1988, he went to training camp with the
Phoenix Cardinals. On July 27, he was waived after not beating
Greg Horne.
Miami Dolphins (first stint) In May 1989, he signed with the
Miami Dolphins. On August 28, he was cut after not passing incumbent
Reggie Roby on the depth chart.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (first stint) On April 24, 1990, he was signed by the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He made the team after beating out
Chris Mohr. He had 72 punts (40.3-yard avg.) and received All-rookie honors from
Football Digest. In 1991, he hit 84 punts (40.3-yard avg.), while setting a then-franchise record with 22 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. He had six punts for a season-best 46.8-yard average against the
New Orleans Saints.
Pittsburgh Steelers On March 15, 1992, he signed as a
Plan B free agent with the
Pittsburgh Steelers. He ranked fifth in the AFC with a 42.7-yard average per punt. In 1993, he made 89 punts (42.5-yard avg.) and had 22 punts of 50 or more yards. He led the AFC with 28 punts inside the 20 and just three touchbacks. He received AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in the ninth game against the
Buffalo Bills, after hitting a 58-yarder and downing three punts inside the 20. He had a career-high 11 punts against the
New England Patriots. Royals is also known for a bad punt he kicked in the
AFC wildcard game between the Steelers and the
Kansas City Chiefs on January 8, 1994. Near the end of the fourth quarter with Pittsburgh leading Kansas City by seven points, Royals failed to direct a punt towards a sideline, and instead, punted the ball forward directly towards the
line of scrimmage. The punt was blocked and recovered by Kansas City. With 1:43 remaining in the fourth quarter and on 4th down, Kansas City quarterback
Joe Montana threw a touchdown pass to receiver
Tim Barnett. The ensuing
PAT tied the game which then went into
sudden death overtime. Kansas City kicker
Nick Lowery eventually kicked the game winning
field goal for the Chiefs eliminating the Steelers from the playoffs. In 1994, he set club records with 97 punts and 3,849 punt yards, while averaging 39.7 yards and tying an NFL record with 35 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. He tied his career-best with 11 punts and set a career-high eight punts downed inside the 20, in the ninth game against the
Houston Oilers. He averaged 44.4 yards per punt with a long of 55 yards in the AFC Championship Game against the
San Diego Chargers. Royals left as one of the punting leaders in franchise history with 259 punts (fourth), a 41.5-yard average (fourth) and 85 punts downed inside the 20-yard line (second).
Detroit Lions On April 26, 1995, he signed as a
free agent with the
Detroit Lions. He averaged 42.0 yards per punt and hit a career-high 69-yarder. He had 6 punts for a 48.8-yard average against the
Atlanta Falcons. In 1996, he had 69 punts for a 43.8-yard average. He tallied a 49.8-yard average per punt against the
New York Giants.
New Orleans Saints On April 25, 1997, he was signed as a
free agent by the New Orleans Saints. He led the league and set a franchise record with a 45.9-yard average. He also placed 21 punts inside the 20 and posted a net average of 34.9 yards. He was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, after hitting six punts for a 57-yard average against the
Arizona Cardinals. In 1998, he led the NFC with a 45.6-yard average on 88 punts, while setting a team record by leading the NFC in gross average in two consecutive seasons. He set a career-high net average of 36.0 yards and downed 26 punts inside the 20. He hit seven punts for a 53.1-yard average against the
Indianapolis Colts. He was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, after downing 5 punts inside the 20-yard line, including three in the fourth quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On June 29, 1999, he was cut after the team signed free agent
Tommy Barnhardt.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (second stint) On August 4, 1999, he was signed as a free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to replace Barnhardt. He appeared in all 16 games and ranked third in the NFC with a team single-season record gross average of 43.13 yards on 90 punts. He also ranked second in the conference with a net average of 37.4 (second in team history) and downed 23 punts inside the 20 (second in team history). In 2000, he appeared in all 16 games, punting 85 times for 3,551 yards (41.8-yard avg.), including a long of 63 yards. He averaged 49.9 yards on seven punts against the
New York Jets. In the 41–13 win over the
Minnesota Vikings, he did not attempt a punt for the first time in his career. He completed a 36-yard pass to
Damien Robinson on a fake punt and averaged 48.3 yards on four punts against the Atlanta Falcons. In 2001, he punted 83 times for 3,382 yards (40.7-yard avg.), including a long of 61 yards, while setting the club's single-season record with 26 punts inside the 20. He had seven punts for 319 yards (45.6-yard avg.) against the Detroit Lions, downing two inside the 20, including a season-long 61-yarder. He broke
Frank Garcia's franchise record for career punts with his 378th against the
St. Louis Cardinals. On March 1, 2002, he was released because of salary cap considerations.
Miami Dolphins (second stint) On April 15, 2002, he was signed as a free agent by the Miami Dolphins, after they were not able to reach a contract agreement with
Matt Turk. He punted 69 times for 2,772 yards, a 40.2-yard average (his worst average in 13 seasons as a starting punter), a net of 34.5 (eighth in the AFC) and 15 punts inside the 20. He also served as the holder on placements. Against the Detroit Lions, he had a season-best 47.8-yard average on five punts, including a long punt of 56 yards. Against the Indianapolis Colts, he had a 47.3-yard average on four punts and a season-high with two punts inside the 20. On September 27, 2003, he was released after averaging 40.2 yards on 16 punts during the first three games of the season, ranking him among the worst punters in the NFL, and continuing the trend of his punting average continually dropping five straight seasons. He was replaced with Turk.
Jacksonville Jaguars On October 10, 2003, he signed as a free agent with the
Jacksonville Jaguars, to replace
Pro Bowler Chris Hanson. During that season, head coach
Jack Del Rio placed a wooden stump and axe in the Jaguars locker room as a symbol of his theme advising players to "keep choppin' wood". After his teammates had been taking swings at the wood with the axe, Hanson followed and ended up seriously wounding his non-kicking foot, which forced him to be placed on
injured reserve on October 10. Royals punted 45 times for 1,852 yards and a 41.2 average. He was not re-signed after the season. ==NFL career statistics==