The Buccaneers are changing kickers again, as Tampa Bay is currently working out a deal with free agent Patrick Murray, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
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 took a look at Andrew Franks, Josh Lambo, Mike Nugent, Marshall Koehn, and Cairo Santos on Monday.
The Buccaneers, of course, are no strangers to problems at placekicker. Folk was initially signed to replace Roberto Aguayo, whom general manager Jason Licht & Co. drafted in the second round of the 2017 draft after a trade up. Aguayo struggled through his rookie campaign and the 2017 season before being waived, but Tampa Bay is now making a special teams transition once again.
Murray, 26, will now begin his second stint with the Buccaneers, as he was the club’s kicker during the 2014 campaign. The Fordham product didn’t appear in the NFL in 2015, and managed only two games in Cleveland last season before suffering an injury. For his career, Murray holds an 80.8% field goal conversion rate, and he’s missed only one extra point attempt.
Folk, meanwhile, will be placed on injured reserve with a “minor” designation, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That means Tampa Bay will be forced to release Folk once he’s deemed fully healthy. When that happens, the Buccaneers will eat the rest of Folk’s 2017 salary.
Amazing how muck kicking is a mind game….CONFIDENCE. And once that doubt creeps in….your done. Can happen after 1 missed kick at the wrong time…..laces out!!!!! Like a closer in baseball….have to have a real short memory. Know they catch a lot of flack, “not a real football player,” win or lose games on you doing the only task your asked…..tough job.
How did they work out Santos when he’s on the chiefs IR? Am I missing something?