The Tennessee Titans are in a position they've had the luxury of avoiding for the better part of the last three decades.

Punter Ryan Stonehouse injured his left knee in Sunday's loss to the Indianapolis Colts and will require season-ending surgery per coach Mike Vrabel, putting the Titans in need of a new punter and holder on kicks.

Dating back to 1998, the Titans have only really had three punters: Craig Hentrich, Brett Kern and Stonehouse. That trio has booted 1,927 of the team's 1,984 punts (97%) over the last 26 seasons with no other player punting in more than four games.

Stonehouse has arguably been the league's best punter this season. He leads the league in yards per punt and punts downed inside the 20-yard line, ranks second in percentage of punts downed inside the 20-yard line and ranks third in net yards per punt. He set an NFL record as a rookie in 2022 averaging 53.1 yards per punt, a mark he's matched in 2023.

Now, with Stonehouse injured, the Titans' remarkable streak of punting consistency has to be put on pause.

Here are some candidates who may be viable replacements for Stonehouse.

Brett Kern

Or, maybe the streak wouldn't have to end.

Kern's just 37 years old, only retired in June, still lives in Nashville and punted as recently as the NFC Championship game in January. If the Titans want to bring back a franchise cornerstone, he's around.

Kern might just not be interested. The Titans' all-time leader in punts, punt yards and punts downed inside the 20-yard line spoke about a reunion on the Chase McCabe and Big Joe Show on 102.5 The Game Monday and said he "hasn't touched a ball since Super Bowl week last year" and "retired for a reason." He averaged just 40.8 yards per punt with the Philadelphia Eagles last year. By comparison, kicker Nick Folk averaged 40.5 yards per punt in relief of Stonehouse Sunday, and he hadn't punted in a game since he was in college.

"I think anybody that can punt and hold would be an option," Vrabel said when asked Monday if Kern could be an option to replace Stonehouse.

There's little doubt Kern would be able to get in shape quickly and could be a weapon as a master of directional punting. But he'd have to want the job to take it.

Andy Lee

Kern isn't the only former Pro Bowl and All Pro punter who last kicked in 2022 available as a free agent. The other is Andy Lee, the 41-year-old former San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals specialist.

Lee still averaged more than 47 yards per punt last season and only logged four touchbacks on 67 kicks.

Arryn Siposs

Kern landed with the Eagles last year because of an injury to Arryn Siposs, an Australian product who's available. Siposs played in the Eagles' first two games this year after signing back to their practice squad out of training camp but was waived in favor of Braden Mann in September.

Siposs punted eight times with zero touchbacks and two downed inside the 20-yard line in his two games this season. For his career he's averaged 44.6 yards per punt and 38.7 net yards per punt.

Michael Palardy

Former University of Tennessee punter Michael Palardy is a free agent after playing with the Panthers, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots from 2016-22. He put up the worst numbers of his career in yards per punt, net yards per punt, touchback percentage and percentage of punts downed inside the 20-yard line in 2022 with New England.

Drue Chrisman

Former Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers punter Drue Chrisman hasn't landed anywhere since losing a training camp competition to Bengals rookie Brad Robbins in August. He ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in net yards per punt last year, albeit in seven games.

Matt Haack

The Titans are no stranger to facing punter Matt Haack, who's kicked for the Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and, most recently, the Colts. Haack had one of his best years in 2022 with the Colts and signed with the Cardinals for 2023 but didn't make it out of training camp.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 6 replacement options for punter Ryan Stonehouse, including Brett Kern