Ryan Santoso will be with a third team in less than a month. After being traded from the Giants to the Panthers, the young kicker agreed to a practice squad deal with the Titans on Friday. Tennessee cut offensive lineman Christian DiLauro from its P-squad to make room.
This will be a return trip. The Titans gave Santoso his first game experience in 2019, bringing him in amid a turbulent kicking season. Santoso, however, was not one of the four Titans to attempt a field goal that year. The Titans used him as a kickoff specialist during his previous Nashville stay, which lasted three games.
The Panthers quickly cut bait on the third-year specialist, who made both his field goal attempts but missed an extra point in the team’s 19-14 Week 1 win over the Jets. Zane Gonzalez is now in place as Carolina’s kicker.
Tennessee also ditched its Week 1 kicker, Michael Badgley, and promoted its previous practice squad specialist — Randy Bullock — to its active roster. Santoso, 26, will now be in place behind Bullock.
A former Minnesota Golden Gopher, Santoso brings an interesting skill set that gives him additional appeal for a practice squad slot. The 26-year-old specialist has extensive punting experience as well, serving as the Big Ten program’s punter as a junior and senior. Santoso’s last season as a full-time kicker came in 2015. He has only worked as a kickoff man and a placekicker in the pros.