Sebastian Janikowski - Pro Football Rumors

Raiders Part Ways With Sebastian Janikowski

February 14th, 2018 at 4:26pm CST by Zachary Links

Sebastian Janikowski‘s 18-year run with the Raiders has come to an end. On Wednesday, the Raiders informed the kicker that he will not be re-signed for the 2018 season, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

Last offseason, Janikowski initially balked when the Raiders asked him to take a pay cut, and that nearly marked the end of his tenure in Oakland. The kicker eventually acquiesced, but a preseason back injury kept him off of the field for the entire season.

Janikowski’s replacement, Giorgio Tavecchio, may have the inside track on the job, but new coach Jon Gruden could also open up a competition. Last year, the 27-year-old (28 in July), connected on 76.2% of his field goal tries and made 33 of 34 extra point attempts.

Before 2017, the 2000 first-round pick missed four games with the Raiders, and his 268 appearances are the most in franchise history. Despite his long-running history with team, the Raiders clearly had concerns about his age and possible decline. In 2016, Janikowski made 82.9% of his field goals and went 37-of-39 on extra point tries. He has not cleared the 83% mark on field goals since 2014. If not for the timing of the team announcing a move to Las Vegas, Janikowski might have been released before the 2017 season.

Janikowski turns 40 in March, but it seems likely that he’ll want to continue playing.

With Janikowski out of the picture in Oakland, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady stands as the only player from the 2000 NFL draft still with the team that drafted him.

Raiders To Bring Antonio Hamilton Off IR

November 28th, 2017 at 4:13pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders have designated cornerback Antonio Hamilton to return from injured reserve, as Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. The move will trigger a three-week window for Hamilton to return to the 53-man roster. If he is not activated within that timeframe, he will not be eligible to play for the remainder of the season.

The move officially means that will will not see kicker Sebastian Janikowski or offensive lineman Denver Kirkland take the field again in 2017. Each team has only two IR-DTR spots to use and one has already been burned to activate safety Obi Melifonwu.

Hamilton underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus back in October. Before that, the second-year player appeared in four games, primarily as a special-teamer. Last year, he made ten appearances. Per league rules, Hamilton will be eligible to play against the Cowboys on Dec. 17.

California Notes: Raiders, Janikowski, Rams

November 9th, 2017 at 4:26pm CST by Zachary Links

A quick look at the Raiders and Rams:

Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie says he won’t hurry Sebastian Janikowski back from injured reserve. “You don’t have to rush him back; that’s for sure. Giorgio [Tavecchio] has really stepped up to the plate.” (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal). Janikowski w
When asked if NaVorro Bowman could be a long-term option for the Raiders at middle linebacker, McKenzie answered in the affirmative (Twitter link via Matt Schneidman of the Bay Area News Group). Bowman, 30 in May, is playing on a one-year deal that can max out at $3MM. He’ll be eligible for free agency in March.
Rams backup running back Malcolm Brown will be “out for a little bit of time” with an injured MCL, as Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com writes. His absence could open the door for Lance Dunbar, currently on PUP, to get back on the field. It’s not yet clear whether Brown will require surgery.

Sebastian Janikowski Could Return This Year

September 10th, 2017 at 3:04pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although the Raiders placed kicker Sebastian Janikowski on injured reserve on Saturday, he won’t require surgery for the disc issue in his back, meaning he could return later this season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

However, roster management problems could certainly prevent Janikowski from coming back this year. Although the NFL now allows two players to return from injured reserve following an eight-week absence, Oakland is already planning to use one of its slots on second-round safety Obi Melifonwu. With only one IR/designated to return spot remaining, the Raiders may not want to waste that space on a specialist such as Janikowski.

Janikowski, who agreed to a ~$1MM pay reduction last week, has been the Raiders’ kicker since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2000. The 39-year-old boasts a career field goal percentage of 80.4, and performed a notch above that level in 2016, nailing 82.9% of his kicks. Oakland gained 5.3 points of field position on field goals last season, good for fifth in the league, per Football Outsiders.

Janikowski’s replacement, Giorgio Tavecchio, has converted all four of his field goal attempts today — he’s been good from 20, 43, and (twice) 52 yards.

Raiders To Place Sebastian Janikowski On IR

September 9th, 2017 at 3:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders will open the season with a kicker other than Sebastian Janikowski for the first time since the 20th century on Sunday, because the team placed the 18th-year veteran on IR Saturday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

Janikowski’s struggled with a back injury during the preseason. In Janikowski’s place, Giorgio Tavecchio is in line to make his NFL debut Sunday against the Titans, Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tweets. The Raiders signed Tavecchio to their practice squad on Friday after taking him to training camp the past two years.

Schefter notes (via Twitter) the Raiders promoted Tavecchio from the practice squad. The Raiders were concerned about Janikowski’s back for some time, with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reporting (on Twitter) the kicker hadn’t felt right in weeks.

A disc injury will shelve Janikowski for at least half the season, but the situation could be complicated. The Raiders are planning to make rookie safety Obi Melifonwu one of their IR-DTR players, and teams only have two such spots. So it’s possible this injury ends Janikowski’s season, depending on what transpires on the Oakland injury front during the first half of the season. The Raiders waited until December of last year to recall defensive end Mario Edwards, but it would certainly be interesting if they held a spot for a kicker.

This has been quite the newsworthy week involving the longest-tenured player in Raiders history. Oakland worked out three recently released kickers — Josh Lambo, Mike Nugent and Marshall Koehn — and a pay-cut agreement commenced, reducing Janikowski’s 2017 salary from $4MM to $3MM. This followed an initial impasse that involved the longtime specialist refusing to accept a pay reduction. That $3MM figure is guaranteed in this the last season of Janikowski’s latest Raiders contract.

The 2000 first-round pick has only missed four games with the Raiders, and his 268 are the most any Raider’s ever played.

Lambo, Nugent and Koehn will be names to monitor, since it’s unlikely Tavecchio will have surefire job security. He’ll have to perform to stave off a potential veteran add. Also a left-footed kicker, Tavecchio kicked for Cal from 2008-11.

Raiders’ Sebastian Janikowski Takes Pay Cut

September 7th, 2017 at 10:25am CST by Zachary Links

Sebastian Janikowski has in fact taken a pay cut. The Raiders kicker’s salary has gone from $4.05MM to $3MM fully guaranteed, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). As a part of the revised deal, however, Janikowski can make an additional $250K if he sinks 83% of his field goals.

On late Wednesday night it was reported that Janikowski had resolved his “contractual differences” with the team. Unsurprisingly, that included a bit of a hair cut for the veteran kicker.

The Raiders auditioned kickers Mike Nugent, Josh Lambo, and Marshall Koehn on Labor Day and Lambo in particular was said to have excelled. Meanwhile, Janikowski was missing kicks in practice thanks to his bad back. The Raiders may or may not have been serious about the idea of cutting ties with their longest tenured player, but either way the tryouts gave them the leverage they needed to save some money against the cap.

Last year, Janikowski made 82.9% of his field goals and went 37-of-39 on extra point tries. He has not cleared the 83% mark on field goals since 2014.

Sebastian Janikowski To Stay With Raiders

September 6th, 2017 at 10:29pm CST by Zachary Links

The longest-tenured Raider in franchise history is not going anywhere. Sebastian Janikowski has “resolved” his “contractual differences” with the team, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears.

Janikowski’s future with the Raiders seemed uncertain this week when the team asked him to take a pay cut and auditioned other kickers. When he was put up against younger competition, the 39-year-old was said to have struggled, thanks in part to back trouble.

We don’t know for certain, but it sounds like Janikowski agreed to a salary reduction in order to keep his place with the team. The Raiders’ concerns about Janikowski’s performance may have merit, but it would have been terrible PR for the team to cut ties with him in the midst of its relocation to Las Vegas.

For his part, Janikowski says he would like to kick for the Raiders through their move to Las Vegas, which could be as late as the 2020 season. First, he’ll have to make it through the 2017 campaign.

Raiders, Sebastian Janikowski At Contract Impasse

September 4th, 2017 at 8:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders and 18th-year kicker Sebastian Janikowski are locked in an impasse over his contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports, and this matter could be resolved as soon as Tuesday.

Oakland’s brass has asked the 39-year-old specialist to take a pay cut, and thus far, Janikowski has declined, per Schefter. Janikowski is owed $4MM in base salary this season. A small portion of that figure ($238K) becomes guaranteed at 3pm Tuesday, per Schefter (via Twitter), who adds the rest of that salary will be fully guaranteed if Janikowski’s a part of the Oakland roster on Saturday.

This would explain the Raiders bringing in kickers to work out earlier Monday. Oakland auditioned Mike Nugent, Josh Lambo and Marshall Koehn on Labor Day. Should Janikowski stay on the team, it will be his 18th Raiders season. The former first-round pick has played in more games than any player in franchise history.

The Raiders are also concerned about Janikowski’s back injury. The back trouble caused the kicker to look “awful” today, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter link). Lambo, in particular, stood out during the workouts, Rapoport reports (on Twitter).

Janikowski has one season remaining on his latest Oakland contract, and the cap figure ($4.41MM) sits only behind the Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski among kickers in 2017. One of the strongest-legged kickers in NFL history, Janikowski has one Pro Bowl (2014) on his resume and has made a 63-yard field goal. Playing in 268 career games, the veteran kicker has missed just one contest since the start of the 2002 season.

The former Florida State kicker said earlier this summer he would like to kick for the Raiders through their move to Las Vegas, which could be as late as the 2020 season. He will be 42 by that point. A Janikowski release would surely cause other teams to consider an 11th-hour addition.

AFC West Notes: Chargers, Raiders, Chiefs

June 15th, 2017 at 2:28pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, set to enter his age-35 season and his 14th in the NFL, doesn’t see retirement on the horizon. “I don’t want to hang on at the end and just be a guy that’s hanging on,” Rivers told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “But if I still feel like I can help a team and I enjoy it the way I do and more importantly, if the team feels that I can help them. … I don’t see myself shutting it down any time real soon.” Rivers, who still has three years remaining on his contract, posted the fifth 30-touchdown and eighth 4,000-yard campaign of his career last season, though he also tossed a personal-worst 21 interceptions as a member of an injury-plagued, five-win team.

Like Rivers, Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski would like to continue his career into the foreseeable future. One key difference between the two is that Janikowski is already on the cusp of his 40s. Nevertheless, the 39-year-old’s aiming to remain the Raiders’ kicker when they relocate to Las Vegas in 2020. “I hope so, that’s my goal,” he said, via the Associated Press. “That’s not my decision.” Janikowski will be 42 when the Raiders move, which isn’t an unprecedented age for a kicker to play at (the Colts’ Adam Vinatieri is 44, and ex-Raider George Blanda lasted until he was 48, notes the AP), but it would make for a remarkable run with one franchise. Janikowski is entering his 18th year with the Raiders, who raised eyebrows when the then-Al Davis-led organization chose him 17th overall in the 2000 draft. The ex-Florida State Seminole has generally been effective for the Raiders since, including when he made 29 of 35 field goals last year.
One of Janikowski’s Raiders teammates, quarterback Derek Carr, is a candidate to receive a record contract worth $25MM-plus per year prior to the season. But Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com is somewhat skeptical of Carr and the Raiders, arguing that it will be tough for either to replicate their 2016 performances this year. Carr will have difficulty avoiding negative regression on both his paltry interception rate (1.1 percent) and lofty fourth-quarter comeback total (seven) from last season, while the Raiders probably won’t win 12 games again unless they dramatically improve their point differential, Barnwell contends. Oakland only outscored its opposition by 31 points last season, leading to a Pythagorean Expectation of 8.7 wins. Additionally, the club went a hard-to-sustain 8-1 in games decided by seven or fewer points.
Ravens wide receiver Jeremy Maclin told PFT Live on Thursday that the manner in which the Chiefs notified him of his release earlier this month left him “upset” and “shocked.” Chiefs general manager John Dorsey informed Maclin via voicemail that the team was moving on from him after two years, 131 receptions and 10 touchdowns. Maclin also confirmed that the Chiefs tried to trade him and never asked him to take a pay cut, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reported two weeks ago.

Extra Points: Davis, Hankins, Vernon, Brown

June 27th, 2014 at 12:00pm CST by Matt Feminis

“Vernon Davis sounds resigned as if he’ll report to 49ers training camp in 26 days without a new contract,” writes Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News, and the tight end does not sound stressed about it.

Here’s more lunchtime links:

Giants 2013 second-round pick Johnathan Hankins came on strong down the stretch last season and is poised to inherit the nose tackle position vacated by Linval Joseph, who signed a free-agent deal with the Vikings, writes NJ.com’s Jordan Raanan.
Eagles defensive end Cedric Thornton was terrific against the run last season, but he’s making a concerted effort to improve his hand use and pass-rushing ability. In a story by CSNPhilly.com’s Geoff Mosher, Thornton says part of his motivation came from his wife telling him, “You only had one sack.”
Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon‘s stock is on the rise, says ESPN’s James Walker: “The former third-round pick exploded on the scene and led the Dolphins with 11.5 sacks…Vernon had another strong offseason, capped by his 2 1/2 sacks in Miami’s team scrimmage last week. Not only that, Vernon beat Dolphins Pro Bowl left tackle Branden Albert for two of his sacks…Vernon looks poised to hold onto his starting job and keep former No. 3 overall pick Dion Jordan on the bench.”
Tarell Brown‘s one-year, $3.5MM deal is the Raiders’ best contract, while Sebastian Janikowski‘s four-year, $15.1MM deal — which “ranks in the top 10 of the Raiders annual salary structure, top 3 in total value for the team among veterans, and first overall among kickers in the NFL” — is the worst, in the opinion of OverTheCap.com’s Jason Fitzgerald.
Chiefs injury plagued tight end Tony Moeaki is on the bubble, explains ESPN’s Mike Rodak.
Same goes for Jaguars safety Josh Evans, thinks ESPN’s Michael DiRocco: “Evans will have to prove early in camp that he’s completely healthy and is more consistent than he was as a rookie. If he doesn’t, he’ll lose reps and could end up being the first David Caldwell draft pick who gets cut.”