Captain Fear
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- Mar 20, 2019
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The Buccaneers drafted a kicker, because, well, you know, the last time they drafted one, it didn’t work out so well.
In 2016, the Bucs traded up to draft Florida State’s Roberto Aguayo in the second round. Aguayo played only one NFL season, going only 22-of-31 on his field goal attempts while missing two extra points as a rookie.
Tampa Bay went back to the well in the fifth round Saturday, drafting Utah kicker Matt Gay with the 145th overall selection.
The Bucs gave veteran Cairo Santos only a $195,000 signing bonus, so his job appears in jeopardy now.
They used Chandler Catanzaro and Santos as their kickers last season, and they combined to make only 20-of-27 on field goals while missing four extra points.
The Bucs have used seven kickers the past four seasons, going through Patrick Murray, Nick Folk, Aguayo, Connor Barth and Kyle Brindza besides Catanzaro and Santos. They were a combined 96-of-132 (72.7 percent) with 15 missed PATs.
Gay won the Lou Groza Award in 2017 as nation’s top kicker. He went 30-for-34 on field goals, including 5-for-6 from 50 yards and longer. He was a semifinalist for the award in 2018 when he was 26-of-31, which included three blocked field goals.