Carolina is where Sauerbrun achieved his greatest success, as well as his biggest problems. He was picked for the
Pro Bowl to represent the
NFC in the 2002, 2003, and 2004 seasons. Sauerbrun also became the first player from either conference since the
AFL-NFL Merger in 1970 to lead his conference in gross punting average for three consecutive seasons (2001-2003). However, during the 2004 season, the Panthers were riddled with injuries, and at one point, starting
placekicker John Kasay suffered a leg injury, and the Panthers were forced to use Sauerbrun to replace Kasay. Sauerbrun refused to kick unless he was reimbursed for fines he incurred when he was overweight. In December 2004, he was charged with DWI, and he was recently named in an investigation of
steroids use in the NFL linked to a Carolina doctor during the 2004-05 season. Sauerbrun has also been known for his long-standing feud with the Gramatica brothers, who are placekickers in the NFL, and why he was forced to be their kicker when Kasay got injured, as he refused to allow the Panthers to bring them in for tryouts. On
May 19,
2005, Sauerbrun was traded to the Denver for punter Jason Baker and a 7th round draft pick in the 2006 draft. On
July 7,
2006, Sauerbrun was suspended for the four games of the NFL season after testing positive for the banned
supplement ephedra. On Tuesday, October 17, 2006, the day he was supposed to come back from his suspension, Denver cut him, favoring
Paul Ernster.
One of Todd Sauerbrun's most notable NFL career moments so far occurred during the AFC Divisional Playoffs on
January 14,
2006, when, in a rare move for a team punter, he managed to tackle
New England Patriots returner
Ellis Hobbs after his own kickoff and actually forced a fumble, which was recovered by his teammate,
Cecil Sapp. This eventually led to a Broncos touchdown, which helped Denver defeat the Patriots 27-13, ending New England's bid for an unprecedented three consecutive
Super Bowl victories.
