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Brett Maher

Rams Waive K Lucas Havrisik, To Bring Back K Brett Maher

January 1st, 2024 at 3:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

3:05pm: A new face may not handle kicking duties in the postseason after all. When addressing the latest switch, head coach Sean McVay announced the Rams intend to bring Maher back. He has not played since being let go by Los Angeles earlier in the year, and now he will have the opportunity to reclaim his old gig. Given Maher’s struggles in his first Rams stint (along with his extra point issues in the playoffs with the Cowboys last year), however, it will be interesting to see if competition is brought in over the coming days.

1:36pm: In the wake of their continued struggles at the position, the Rams are set to make another change at the kicker spot. The team announced on Monday that Lucas Havrisik has been waived.

Los Angeles began the season with Brett Maher in place, but he missed six field goals (along with one extra point) in seven games. That required a change to be made, and Maher was let go. Havrisik was signed off the Browns’ practice squad to take his place. However, the Rams also auditioned a number of more experienced options, leaving the door open to a third option seeing game time.

Havrisik had a nine-game run with the Rams, but he was unable to lock down the kicking gig on a permanent basis. The 24-year-old went 15-for-20 on field goal attempts, including four misses from inside 50 yards. He also missed three extra points in his tenure with Los Angeles; two of those occurred in Week 17’s narrow win over the Giants. That victory secured a playoff spot for the Rams, but their special teams situation is once again uncertain with the postseason looming.

Los Angeles briefly added Mason Crosby, but Havrisik remained in place long enough to lead the veteran elsewhere. Crosby (who missed a 54-year game winner on Sunday) is set to finish out the season with the Giants. While New York’s campaign will come to an end in Week 18, the same is not true for the Rams. As a result, their actions in the coming days will be worth watching.

No other kicker currently resides on the team’s roster or practice squad, so an addition will need to be made soon. It would come as little surprise if the Rams were to again host several options on the free agent market as they look to solidify the kicker position ahead of the playoffs. Havrisik will now be available to all teams via waivers; he will become a free agent if no team puts in a claim.

Rams Release K Brett Maher; Team Signs K Lucas Havrisik Off Browns’ Practice Squad

October 25th, 2023 at 8:39pm CST by Adam La Rose

OCTOBER 25: Havrisik may be a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option in Los Angeles, as the Rams have shown they may not view him as a permanent solution. Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 reports that the team hosted a mass tryout for kickers today. In addition to veteran kickers Mason Crosby and Randy Bullock, the team also tried out Austin Seibert, Matthew Wright, and Tucker McCann.

With Crosby’s time in Green Bay coming to an end after 16 years as a Packer, he’s aiming to join the second franchise of his NFL career. Bullock, after starting out in Houston, has had decent stints with the Bengals and Titans over the past several years. Seibert and Wright have both had a single decent season, Seibert with the Browns and Wright with the Jaguars, but both have bounced around a bit since.

Havrisik may have first dibs, already being under contract, but with the Rams continuing to explore other options, his grip on the kicking job may be tenuous at best.

OCTOBER 24: After struggling in Week 7, Brett Maher now finds himself on the lookout for a new opportunity. The veteran kicker was released by the Rams on Tuesday, per a team announcement.

Maher missed a pair of field goals, along with an extra point, in the Rams’ 24-17 loss to the Steelers on Sunday. That drew understandable criticism from head coach Sean McVay, and led to questions about whether or not a change at the position would be deemed necessary. Today’s move confirms Los Angeles’ stance on that front.

The 33-year-old had his second Cowboys stint end in disappointing fashion in last year’s postseason. Maher had delivered a strong performance in the regular season, but he missed four extra point attempts in the wild-card round and another in the divisional round. To no surprise, Dallas looked elsewhere for a replacement, which left Maher in search of a new home.

That initially sent him to Denver in a reunion with head coach Sean Payton. Maher spent the 2021 season with the Saints in Payton’s final year in New Orleans. By the time the season started, though, the Broncos had acquired another Payton-era Saints alum (Wil Lutz) to handle kicking duties. The latter has missed only one field goal and one extra point to date, so Denver likely does not regret that decision.

Maher had been busy during his brief Rams stint. His 23 field goal attempts through seven weeks (along with 17 makes) lead the NFL. However, that 74% success rate is the second-lowest of his career, and a recurrence of his XP issues will likely make it difficult to find another NFL gig in the near future. With respect to his replacement, the Rams appear to have a successor in mind.

Los Angeles plans to sign Lucas Havrisik off the Browns’ practice squad, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The 24-year-old initially joined the league with the Colts last season, but after a long stretch as a free agent, he joined Cleveland’s taxi squad this summer. The Browns ran into kicking trouble in the preseason, which led to Cade York‘s departure. He was replaced by Dustin Hopkins, who has been nearly perfect to start the year. Now. Cleveland will lose its backup plan at the kicking spot while the Rams (who have confirmed the signing) will give Havrisik his first opportunity in regular season NFL action.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/12/23

September 12th, 2023 at 8:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Waived from IR: DL Tautala Pesefea Jr.

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Michael Dogbe has found his next gig after getting waived by the Jaguars during final cuts. The former seventh-round pick spent the first four seasons of his career with the Cardinals, appearing in 40 games. He took on a bigger role over the past two years, compiling 55 tackles in 29 appearances. He joined Jacksonville this offseason before earning his walking papers.

Myles Gaskin is back on an active roster following an unceremonious end to his Miami tenure. The running back had 1,818 yards from scrimmage across the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but he saw a limited role with the Dolphins in 2022. He joined the Vikings practice squad at the end of the preseason and was elevated to the active roster for their season opener.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/23

September 9th, 2023 at 6:47pm CST by Ely Allen

We have our first flood of pregame transactions of the season today as teams across the league with games tomorrow utilize their two permitted practice squad elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Promoted from practice squad: LB Brevin Allen

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: RB Myles Gaskin, OLB Benton Whitley

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Rams Sign K Brett Maher To Practice Squad

August 31st, 2023 at 1:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

AUGUST 31: The Rams still do not have a kicker on their active roster, but they now carry one on their practice squad. Maher’s deal is a P-squad agreement, the team announced. The veteran specialist is a clear candidate to begin the season as Los Angeles’ kicker; that move would require a promotion or a gameday elevation.

AUGUST 30: After seeing the Broncos replace him with a trade for Sean Payton’s longtime Saints kicker, Brett Maher is on the verge of landing another gig. The veteran kicker is finalizing terms with the Rams, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

The Broncos acquired Wil Lutz via trade Tuesday and released Maher, who had been the only kicker in Denver for a bit. Maher competed against Elliott Fry to replace Brandon McManus, but after Fry suffered an injury, the Broncos had Maher effectively competing with kickers on other rosters. Lutz, who lost the Saints’ kicking competition, won out and is back with Payton.

The Rams let Matt Gay walk in free agency; Gay joined the Colts on a big-ticket (for kickers) deal. They brought in rookies to compete for the kicker job but set their initial 53-man roster with that spot vacant. Maher, 33, is set to fill it.

Although this is a Rams team in a vastly different place compared to Sean McVay’s previous seasons, Maher should still be considered a short-leash player. He has managed to both make the most 60-plus-yard field goals in NFL history (four) and miss five extra points in a single playoff run. Maher’s four misses in Tampa did not affect Dallas’ wild-card effort, but he missed another PAT in a close loss to San Francisco.

Broncos To Acquire K Wil Lutz From Saints, Release Brett Maher

August 29th, 2023 at 12:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

12:45pm: In a corresponding (and unsurprising) move, Maher will be released, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. After losing out on the Broncos’ job, Maher will now need to move quickly to find another opportunity as teams sort out their kicking positions amidst roster cutdowns.

11:20am: The previously rumored Sean Payton-Wil Lutz reunion is happening. The Saints are sending the Pro Bowl kicker to the Broncos, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. New Orleans will receive a 2024 seventh-round pick for the veteran specialist, 9News’ Mike Klis adds.

Denver cut nine-year kicker Brandon McManus early this offseason and had gone into training camp with an Elliott Fry–Brett Maher competition. After a Fry injury, Maher finished out the preseason on his own. But the team had been looking for another option. Lutz loomed as the most logical choice, assuming the Saints were OK going with a rookie UDFA at kicker. With Blake Grupe winning the job, Lutz is now en route to Colorado.

This marks the second trade between Payton and his former team this year. The Saints sent tight end Adam Trautman to the Broncos during the draft. Despite Greg Dulcich‘s presence, Trautman has worked as Denver’s starting tight end. It appears the Broncos have not seen enough from Maher, with Lutz set to resume kicking under Payton.

Lutz, 29, has been the Saints’ kicker since 2016. Payton’s final New Orleans season did not feature Lutz, who suffered an offseason injury that led to four kickers — one of them Maher — kicking for the team that year. Although Lutz earned Pro Bowl acclaim in 2019, he has not been as accurate since. Coming off a groin injury that required two surgeries — the second after a setback — Lutz made a career-low 74.2% of his field goal tries last season. In 2020, Lutz connected on just more than 82% of his attempts. He cleared an 86% make rate from 2017-19, earning an extension for his early-career work. Lutz did fare well during training camp this year, however, per NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan.

The Saints, naturally, reworked Lutz’s contract this offseason, reducing his salary from $3.7MM to $2.2MM. The adjustment gave Lutz a $500K signing bonus. He is tied to a $1.25MM base salary in the final year of this contract. The Saints will eat more than $1MM in dead money by making this trade, but they will have a rookie-contract kicker in place.

McManus had been the Broncos’ kicker since 2014, but Payton signed off on making him a post-June 1 cut. As the Broncos used some of those savings to sign Frank Clark, their Fry-Maher competition had underwhelmed. Both players missed kicks in their first preseason game, and Maher is coming off one of the worst playoff games a kicker has ever gone through. The veteran followed up his four-PAT-miss wild-card game by missing another in the Cowboys’ divisional-round loss to the 49ers. It is safe to expect Maher to be cut before the 3pm CT deadline today.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/21/23

July 21st, 2023 at 7:56pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league as teams prepare their rosters for training camp:

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Washington Commanders

 

There are some big names in Baltimore that won’t be healthy to open camp. Two offensive youngsters who can’t seem to stay on the field, Dobbins and Bateman, continue to struggle to get healthy. Bateman sat out most of the spring after receiving a cortisone shot in hopes it would help get him back in time for camp. While he didn’t report, general manager Eric DeCosta expects him back soon, according to the team’s editorial director Ryan Mink. Dobbins has started thinking about his second contract this summer, and getting healthy will be key to gaining any leverage in negotiations. Ricard is no surprise, as head coach John Harbaugh predicted this placement a month ago. Bowser, though, experienced an unexpected flare up in his knee this spring after missing eight games last season.

In Cleveland, Goodwin experienced a medical scare recently when discomfort in his legs and shortness of breath turned out to be blood clots in his legs and lungs, according to James Palmer of NFL Network. He will miss the start of training camp as the clots are addressed.

In Denver, a kicking competition appears to be in the cards. The team held a workout for Maher, Elliott Fry, and Parker White back in May and ended up signing Fry. Now, with Maher joining the team, and the exit of Brandon McManus, the position battle between Maher and Fry will continue.

In Wisconsin, Gary and Stokes each ended their season after Week 9 of last year due to long-term injuries. Both will continue slowly working their way back in order to play big roles on defense.

In Vegas, Wilson, this year’s seventh overall pick, will have to be patient in finding his way to the field for his rookie year. He was expected to be cleared for training camp after ending his college career with a Lisfranc injury, but he’ll have to wait just a bit longer. The Raiders are counting on him to relieve some of the defensive responsibilities of Chandler Jones and Maxx Crosby.

Cowboys Likely To Add Kicker Before Training Camp

June 8th, 2023 at 9:14pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cowboys will have a new kicker this season, but that player might not yet be on the roster. Speaking to reporters earlier this week, owner Jerry Jones acknowledged while “nothing is imminent,” the Cowboys will “likely” add a kicker before training camp (per the team’s website).

Jones added that the front office has “a lot of options and are looking for more” as they navigate the position going forward. The team turned back to Brett Maher in 2022 following two years with Greg Zuerlein at the position. Maher was more than serviceable during the regular season, connecting on 90.6 percent of his field goal attempts (29 of 32) and 94.3 percent of his extra point tries (50 of 53).

However, the wheels fell off during the postseason. Maher missed four XP tries during the Cowboys’ win over the Buccaneers, and he missed another during the team’s loss to Tampa Bay. The Cowboys didn’t re-sign Maher, who remains a free agent.

At the moment, the team’s only kicker is Tristan Vizcaino. The journeyman has reportedly looked good during OTAs but has a limited track record. Vizcaino has appeared in 10 games in stints with the 49ers, Chargers, Cardinals, and Patriots, connecting on 11 of his 12 FG attempts and 15 of his 20 XP attempts.

While the free agent options at kicker are limited, Stephen Jones noted that the Cowboys could look to alternative sources to fill the hole on the depth chart.

“That’s one of the great things about these leagues (XFL, USFL),” Jones said (via Jon Machota of The Athletic), “it gives you an opportunity to watch these kickers, just like we found (KaVontae) Turpin last year. Certainly (vice president of player personnel) Will (McClay) and his staff are doing a great job of evaluating the guys. Got a couple guys that we think are of interest, and see where we end up. … Whoever is not on a team that we can look at, we’re looking at to improve.”

Broncos Work Out Brett Maher, Elliott Fry, Parker White

May 24th, 2023 at 2:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

MAY 24: In addition to Maher, the Broncos brought in two other kickers — Parker White and Elliott Fry — to audition Wednesday, per 9News’ Mike Klis and the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson (Twitter links). The Packers waived White, a UDFA out of South Carolina, on Monday. A regular on the kicker workout circuit, Fry kicked in three career games (with the Falcons, Chiefs and Bengals) from 2020-21. While a few veteran options — like Robbie Gould, Ryan Succop and Mason Crosby — are available, the Broncos brought in a few less experienced specialists today.

MAY 23: Despite coming off one of the worst kicker performances in playoff history, Brett Maher will receive an audition. The Broncos intend to bring in the two-time Cowboys kicker for a Wednesday workout, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets.

Maher holds the NFL record for most 60-plus-yard field goals, with four, but he is also coming off a woeful 2022 postseason. Maher went 1-for-6 on extra points during the playoffs, missing four to partially stain the Cowboys’ runaway wild-card win over the Buccaneers. While the Cowboys have not shut the door on re-signing him, the veteran specialist remains a free agent.

The Broncos just released their kicker of the past nine seasons, Brandon McManus, designating their longest-tenured player as a post-June 1 cut. Maher, 33, will likely not be the only kicker the team auditions, but he is the first known replacement option to surface. Maher also has experience with Sean Payton, having been one of the Saints’ Wil Lutz replacement options during the 2021 season.

The Saints rolled out four kickers during Lutz’s full-season injury absence two years ago, and Maher enjoyed the longest run of that group. He went 16 of 18 on field goals as a Saint. During the 2022 regular season in Dallas, Maher went 29-for-32, connecting on an impressive 9 of 11 tries from beyond 50 yards. Long-range accuracy has been perhaps Maher’s calling card as a pro, though his January struggles certainly bring concern. Maher missed as many PATs during Dallas’ two postseason games than he had over the past two regular seasons (five).

Denver had enjoyed relative stability at kicker for 30 years, going from Jason Elam (15 seasons) to Matt Prater (six) to McManus (nine) without much of a hiccup. Prater’s 2014 substance-abuse suspension brought about the last change. Now, Payton will go about filling this need in the near future.

Cowboys Eyeing K Addition, Open To Re-Signing Brett Maher

May 7th, 2023 at 1:55pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Cowboys currently have just one kicker on their roster (Tristan Vizcaino), but that total will increase in the near future. Dallas chose not to make an addition at the position during the draft, meaning one or more veteran signings should be expected.

Kicker was not an area of concern during the regular season in 2022, with Brett Maher winning a preseason competition and enjoying a consistent campaign. The former CFLer went 29-for-32 on field goals, good for a career-best 90.6% conversion rate. He also missed only three of a league-high 53 extra point attempts, though things changed dramatically in the postseason.

Maher missed four straight PATs during the Cowboys’ wild-card win over the Buccaneers, leading to the addition of Vizcaino. His playoff struggles would seem to suggest Maher’s second Cowboys stint would be coming to a close with either the latter or a rookie taking on the full-time kicking position, but that may not be the case. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently confirmed that all options remain open at this point with Maher and others.

“Obviously, we want to come up with the best solution that we can there, but we didn’t get the kicker opportunity that we thought we might get in the draft,” Jones added, via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. “And we had other priorities when we had a chance to get it. We took somebody else obviously.”

Three kickers heard their names called last weekend, but a number of options remain available amongst undrafted prospects. The Cowboys have yet to announce their UDFA class, but it would thus come as no surprise if one or more kickers were included in it this year. As far as veterans are concerned, the likes of Robbie Gould, Mason Crosby and Randy Bullock are available to sign at any time. How Maher plays into the Cowboys’ next kicking competition (if at all) will be worth monitoring as the rest of the offseason takes shape.

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