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Andre Szmyt

Jets’ Kicker Workout Includes Zane Gonzalez, Brayden Narveson, Cade York, Others

October 29th, 2024 at 3:40pm CST by Ben Levine

OCTOBER 29: Zane Gonzalez and the recently cut Brayden Narveson took part in the Jets’ kicker workout, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets. The workout also included Patterson, York, Spencer Shrader and Andre Szmyt. Shrader kicked in one game for the Colts this season, filling in for Matt Gay. Szmyt has never kicked in an NFL game.

Narveson missed five field goals in six Packers games, doing so despite not attempting a 50-plus-yarder during his rookie season. The Pack cut him for Brandon McManus this month. Gonzalez has not kicked in a regular-season game since 2021 but was a regular for five straight seasons. The Commanders cut Patterson and traded for York in August, eventually moving on from the latter after Week 1. The Jets have not yet made a signing, but several options are on the radar.

OCTOBER 28: Greg Zuerlein‘s days in New York may be numbered. Following another dreadful outing from the Jets kicker, coach Jeff Ulbrich acknowledged that his team would hold a kicker competition this week (per ESPN’s Rich Cimini). Ulbrich added that the team intends to make a choice before Thursday’s matchup with the Texans, and he strongly hinted that Zuerlein may be sent packing.

“We’re exploring all the options right now,” Ulbrich said (via Brian Costello of the New York Post). “We really are. So we’re going to bring the kickers in for a workout, see where they stand and make a decision after that.”

This isn’t the first time this season that the Jets have considered pivoting away from Zuerlein. The team brought in Cade York, Riley Patterson, and Matt Coghlin earlier this month, but the Jets ended up sticking with the veteran for the time being.

Zuerlein has struggled during his age-37 season, with the kicker missing six of his 15 field goal attempts. In a three-point loss to the Patriots, ‘Greg The Leg’ missed a 44-yard attempt and an extra point. He previously missed a field goal in a one-point loss to the Broncos, and he missed a pair of FGAs during the Jets’ three-point loss to the Bills.

Following an underwhelming start to his New York tenure in 2022, Zuerlein seemed to bounce back in 2023, connecting on 35 of his 38 field goal attempts and 15 of his 16 XP tries. The Jets brought in Austin Seibert as some competition this offseason before ultimately deciding to stay with their incumbent. Seibert proceeded to join the Commanders, where he’s made a league-leading 23 of his 25 field goal attempts.

NFL Workout Rumors: Dawkins, Lions, Akers

July 28th, 2024 at 10:07pm CST by Ely Allen

The name of recent UFL linebacker Noah Dawkins is starting to make the rounds in NFL camps. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Dawkins worked out recently with both the Cowboys and Bears.

Dawkins’ introduction to the NFL came in 2019 when he signed with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent following an impressive pro day at The Citadel. He was signed off the team’s practice squad to the Buccaneers active roster, appearing in 10 games without recording any defensive statistics. In the next three years, he spent time with the Jets and Bears.

He spent this past UFL season with the Michigan Panthers, totaling 35 tackles and an interception. He wasn’t part of the initial rush of players from the UFL getting NFL interest, but he seems to be growing in popularity. In addition to his recent workouts, Wilson reports that Dawkins has garnered interest from multiple other teams.

Here are a couple other workout rumors from around the NFL:

  • The Lions entered training camp with one of the league’s more intriguing position battles as Michael Badgley and UFL phenom Jake Bates duked it out for the kicking job in Detroit. The incumbent Badgley was forced out of the battle when he suffered a season-ending hamstring injury on Thursday. Despite this setback, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp isn’t simply handing the job to Bates. According to ESPN’s Field Yates, Fipp and the Lions brought in a slew of legs to compete with Bates this summer including Matt Ammendola, Lucas Havrisik, Matt McCrane, and Andre Szmyt. Bates was shining at points of his viral UFL campaign but got cold down the stretch. After Bates missed three of eight field goal attempts in practice yesterday, per Lions senior writer Tim Twentyman, it makes sense for Fipp to bring in some competition to keep the UFL star honest.
  • Former second-round running back Cam Akers has struggled to find his place in the NFL but recently signed with the Texans for his next opportunity. Interestingly, Wilson notes that, before his successful workout in Houston resulted in a contract, Akers was scheduled for a workout with the Raiders this past week. Akers has his chance now to battle for time behind Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce in Houston, but his chances may have been a bit better in Las Vegas. The Raiders have a few names in Zamir White, Alexander Mattison, and Ameer Abdullah, but White is relatively inexperienced with just four starts to his name, Mattison struggled in his first season of full-time starting duty last season in Minnesota, and Abdullah hasn’t eclipsed 200 yards rushing in a season since 2017. It’s interesting to see Akers sign with Houston when he may have had an opportunity for more playing time with the Raiders.

Commanders, Lions, Packers, Ravens Interested In K Jake Bates

June 11th, 2024 at 1:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

As expected, Jake Bates‘ UFL season has generated NFL interest. A number of teams are in on the recent spring/summer league specialist, whose previous NFL path did not include any game action.

The Michigan Panthers kicker has received interest from the Commanders, Lions, Packers and Ravens, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. All four teams have requested meetings with Bates, per Wilson, and ESPN.com’s John Keim notes the Commanders will be the first team to host the young specialist. That meeting is set for today.

Washington’s kicker need formed recently, after the team released offseason pickup Brandon McManus after a lawsuit alleging sexual assault emerged. The Commanders have already signed kicker Ramiz Ahmed, but the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala notes the team is looking to hold a competition between the recent signee and another option. The team also auditioned Andre Szmyt on Tuesday, per Jhabvala. Szmyt kicked for the UFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks this season.

With the UFL’s regular season ending, NFL teams are free to hold workouts. UFLers can be added next week, after the league’s weekend championship game. Considering the success the Cowboys have enjoyed with USFL players in recent years — including All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey, a summer 2023 addition — several of the new UFL’s top players will land opportunities to attend NFL training camps. Bates will almost definitely be one.

Bates, whom the Texans cut after barely a week during training camp last year, caught attention for making multiple 60-plus-yard field goals early this season. This included a 64-yarder. The long-range makes placed the Michigan kicker back on the NFL radar, and his second chance figures to feature a more thorough look. That said, Bates proved shakier down the stretch of the UFL season. He missed field goals five field goals over the Panthers’ final four games; that followed a two-miss performance in an April Michigan-Memphis matchup. Overall, Bates went 21-for-28 on field goals this season.

The Lions were connected to the in-state UFL team’s kicker early during the season, and the team used multiple kickers (Riley Patterson, Michael Badgley) in 2023. Detroit re-signed Badgley this offseason and added UDFA James Turner. But the team has been looking into adding another piece here, and Bates’ leg strength certainly caught attention.

Anders Carlson remains the frontrunner to kick for the Packers, but special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia mentioned a potential spring league addition (via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman) before training camp. Green Bay’s roster already houses two other kickers — Greg Joseph, Jack Podlesny — so a Bates addition would certainly be interesting from a roster-allocation standpoint ahead of training camp. Carlson went 27-for-33 last year but missed four extra points and then missed a kick in the Packers’ narrow divisional-round loss to the 49ers.

It would obviously surprise if Bates ended up in Baltimore, given that the Ravens employ arguably the best to ever do it. Justin Tucker is going into his 13th NFL season. Bates, 24, stands to land somewhere soon. His Houston work last summer does not make it a lock he will be one of the 32 kickers in Week 1, but the UFL work will give him a shot.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/8/23

August 8th, 2023 at 8:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: WR Johnny King
  • Waived: T Chim Okorafor
  • Activated from active/PUP list: WR Devon Allen

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Waived/injured: CB Andrew Whitaker

Washington Commanders

Flowers, who agreed to terms with the Patriots earlier today after a workout, suffered a foot injury in October of last season. That setback cut short a Dolphins run after four games. Flowers, who will turn 30 next week, last played for the Patriots in 2018.

McNichols joined Duke Johnson, Brian Hill and Jason Huntley at a recent 49ers workout. The 49ers are without Elijah Mitchell for what is expected to be a short stretch. A five-year veteran, McNichols most recently saw action for the Titans in 2021, helping the team as a pass-catching back (28 grabs for 240 yards) while Derrick Henry missed time with a foot fracture.

Allen suffered an injury while competing in the opening rounds of the 110-meter hurdles competition at the USA Track and Field Championships in July. The two-time Olympian owns the sixth-fastest hurdle time this year (13.04 seconds) but missed a key chunk of Eagles camp. This marks his second bid to make Philadelphia’s 53-man roster. Allen, 28, spent last season on the Eagles’ practice squad and stayed with the team via a reserve/futures contract in February.

The Panthers’ regular kicker, Eddy Pineiro, is battling a groin injury. Carolina gave Pineiro, their 2022 kicker, $2.25MM guaranteed earlier this offseason. The Jaguars’ primary kicker in 2021, Wright kicked in four Steelers games and two Chiefs contests last season.

A rookie UDFA, Whittaker suffered a torn patellar tendon in a recent Seahawks practice, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Matthews also sustained a season-ending injury — a torn ACL — during a Texans workout, Wilson adds (on Twitter).

Bears Sign 14 UDFAs

May 4th, 2023 at 8:32pm CST by Ben Levine

After adding 10 rookies via the draft, the Bears have added another 14 first-year players via free agency. The Bears announced that they have signed 14 undrafted free agents:

Tyson Bagent had a prolific career at Shepherd, tossing 159 touchdowns in 53 games. The 6-foot-3 prospect has the size of a typical NFL quarterback, but his questionable decision-making and arm strength (coupled with his Division II status) led to him going undrafted. Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy got a closeup view of Bagent during the Senior Bowl.

Andre Szmyt left Syracuse as the school’s all-time leader in scoring. He converted 81 percent of his field goal attempts in college and 91 percent of his kicks from within 40 yards. Cairo Santos has connected on 89.7 percent of his FGAs over the past three seasons with the Bears, but the rookie should provide the veteran with a bit of competition in training camp.

Jalen Harris is the son of former Bears draft pick Sean Harris. The defensive lineman compiled 171 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks in 56 games at Arizona before going undrafted last weekend. The rookie can find a role for himself as an edge on the Bears, with DeMarcus Walker, Rasheem Green, Trevis Gipson, and Dominique Robinson providing competition for the roster spots.