The Buccaneers plan to meet with free agent kicker Cairo Santos and give him a physical, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Santos, whom the Chiefs waived with an injury designation at the end of last month, is roughly two weeks away from full health, per Schefter.
Tampa Bay is unsurprisingly auditioned kickers following incumbent Nick Folk‘s dreadful performance against the Patriots on Thursday night. Folk missed three field goals in a game the Buccaneers ultimately lost by five points, so Tampa Bay will take a look at Andrew Franks, Josh Lambo, and Mike Nugent on Monday.
Santos, 25, is arguably a better kicker than any of those three options, as he holds the highest career conversion rate at 84.8%. Last season, Santos posted the best season of his three-plus year NFL tenure, as he made 88.6% of his field goals, including two from 50+ yards. He did miss three extra point attempts, however.
It’s not out of the question that the Buccaneers stick with Folk for the time being, and that could be especially true if they’re specifically eyeing Santos. Tampa Bay could wait for Santos to get healthy, and then reevaluate Folk’s performance and its kicking situation as a whole.