Captain Fear
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- Mar 20, 2019
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The Buccaneers, bless their hearts, cannot get the kicker position right no matter how hard they try.
They drafted Matt Gay in the fifth round in 2019 after drafting Roberto Aguayo in the second round in 2016. They also have tried Chandler Catanzaro and Cairo Santos in 2018 and Patrick Murray and Nick Folk in 2017. And before Aguayo, it was Connor Barth and Kyle Brindza in 2015.
The eight of them combined to go 123 of 167 (73.7 percent). That, in case you are wondering, is not good in today’s NFL.
Although Gay made five field goals of 50 yards or more last season, he made only 27 of 35 field goals. He also missed five extra points.
So the Buccaneers still have an eye on the kicker position.
“We feel Matt is going to be better this year,” Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht said in a Wednesday call with season pass holders, via the Tampa Bay Times. “We feel Matt has a big upside. But we’re definitely planning on adding competition. When we address that, I can’t tell you right now.
“It’s a little complex without being able to just bring in guys for workouts and physicals which are very important, especially at that position. But we do plan to address that, bringing in another kicker to have strong competition for Matt.”
It’s worth noting the Bucs have become the Patriots South with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski joining them, and former Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski remains a free agent.
Gostkowski underwent hip surgery last season, playing only four games, so it is unlikely any team would sign him before their team doctor can examine him. Gostkowski went 374 of 428 (87.4 percent) in his 14 seasons in New England. He made 98.3 percent of his extra points.