Steven Hauschka - Pro Football Rumors

Stephen Hauschka To Retire

December 4th, 2020 at 6:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although Stephen Hauschka kicked in a game earlier this year, he has decided 13 NFL seasons is enough. The veteran kicker announced his retirement Friday (via Instagram).

Best known for his run in Seattle, Hauschka kicked for five teams — the Ravens, Broncos, Seahawks, Bills and Jaguars — and initially landed in the NFL as a Vikings UDFA in 2008. Now 35, Hauschka will call it quits after 166 games.

Hauschka’s six-season Seahawks stay enabled him to kick in two Super Bowls, the first of which earning him a ring, and 11 playoff games. However, his postseason career began in three Ravens playoff games in 2008. Hauschka was not Baltimore’s placekicker in those games, however.

He went a perfect 8-for-8 on field goals during Seattle’s run to Super Bowl XLVIII — including two 40-plus-yarders in the Seahawks’ 23-17 win over the 49ers in the NFC title game — and also made a field goal in Super Bowl XLIX. He only missed one field goal in a playoff game, ending his postseason career 24-for-25 in January and February. Hauschka went 4-for-4 in last season’s Bills-Texans wild-card game. In the regular season, he finishes his career with an 85.2% make rate — 16th all time — with a long of 58 (in 2014).

After two seasons with 90%-plus accuracy on field goals in Seattle, Hauschka signed two Bills contracts — the second of which coming via 2019 extension — and kicked with Buffalo for three seasons. The Bills released the veteran earlier this year, opting to go with rookie Tyler Bass. The Jaguars cut Hauschka after one game this season.

Jaguars Release K Stephen Hauschka, Promote K Jon Brown

October 12th, 2020 at 3:26pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Jaguars are changing kickers yet again. Jacksonville is releasing veteran Stephen Hauschka and replacing him by promoting Jon Brown from the practice squad, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Incredibly, this will now be the Jag’s fifth kicker of the season after regular placekicker Josh Lambo went down with a hip injury that landed him on injured reserve. Fortunately head coach Doug Marrone said the team is hoping Lambo will be ready for the team’s Week 7 game against the Chargers, so Brown might only end up filling in for one week.

Hauschka, the former Seahawks and Bills kicker, was signed back on September 28th. Despite a great deal of past experience and success Hauschka didn’t pan out in Jacksonville, and he had a disastrous game against the Texans yesterday.

He missed both of his field goal attempts, including shanking a 24-yarder and coming up short on a 49-yarder. Former Giants kicker Aldrick Rosas filled in for an injured Hauschka in Week 4 against the Bengals and played well, before landing back on the practice squad injured list with an injury of his own. Brandon Wright was briefly the kicker before he was waived after coming down with a groin injury.

Brown is a 2016 UDFA who originally played soccer at Kentucky before switching to football at Louisville. Brown has spent offseason time with the Bengals and 49ers, but has never kicked in a regular season NFL game. We don’t know what the heck is going on with Jacksonville’s special teams units right now, but hopefully Brown is able to avoid injury.

Jaguars To Sign Stephen Hauschka

September 28th, 2020 at 12:26pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Jaguars have found their replacement for Josh Lambo. Jacksonville is signing veteran kicker Stephen Hauschka, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Lambo was placed on injured reserve last week with a hip injury, and the team had rookie Brandon Wright fill in for him on Thursday Night Football. Wright didn’t attempt a field goal and missed one of his two extra points, and the Jags clearly weren’t satisfied. The team worked out Hauschka and former Giants kicker Aldrick Rosas a couple of days ago.

Hauschka was cut by the Bills in August after three years as Buffalo’s kicker. Before that he had spent the previous six seasons in Seattle, winning Super Bowl XLVIII with the team. He was 21-23 from within 50 yards last year, but made just one of his five kicks from beyond 50.

Lambo has been reliable with the Jags, so he’ll probably get his job back whenever he’s healthy enough. The 1-2 Jaguars take on the Bengals on Sunday.

Jaguars To Work Out Aldrick Rosas, Stephen Hauschka

September 26th, 2020 at 4:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Aldrick Rosas will receive another opportunity to earn his way onto an NFL roster. The Jaguars plan to work out the former Giants kicker, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

Jacksonville has also scheduled a tryout for veteran kicker Stephen Hauschka. Their current kicker, Josh Lambo, is on IR. Replacement Brandon Wright missed an extra point during Thursday’s loss to the Dolphins.

The Rosas part of this is certainly interesting. The Giants waived the 2018 Pro Bowl kicker after he was hit with three charges in connection with a hit-and-run incident earlier this year. Per the police report, Rosas was driving erratically before he blew through a red light and smashed into the side of a pickup truck. Then, cops say he continued driving, stopped only when his SUV broke down, and took off running.

On the field, however, Rosas has shown intermittent promise. He made 97% of his field goals for the Giants in 2018, going 32-for-33, and kicked in each of Big Blue’s games from 2017-19. Rosas, however, made just 71% of his field goal tries last season.

The Bills released Hauschka during training camp, giving their kicker job to rookie Tyler Bass. Hauschka, who collected a Super Bowl ring during a six-season run with the Seahawks, kicked for the Bills from 2017-19. While he made fewer than 80% of his field goal attempts over the past two years, the 35-year-old specialist made more than 87% of his tries in four of the previous five seasons.

Bills Cut Stephen Hauschka

August 27th, 2020 at 3:42pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bills parted ways with one-time fantasy football hero Stephen Hauschka. With the veteran kicker out of the picture, they’ll turn the job over to Georgia Southern product Tyler Bass.

Hauschka spent the bulk of his career with the Seahawks and had stops with the Ravens and Broncos before landing with the Bills in 2017. In his first Buffalo season, he converted 87.9% of his field goals. Since then, he’s gone 22-of-28 in each of his last two campaigns. Last year, the 35-year-old struggled from deep range, going just 1-for-5 on kicks of 50+ yards. After watching him compete with Bass – a sixth-round pick – the Bills have decided to go in a younger (and cheaper) direction.

By cutting Hauschka, the Bills will save $1.55MM against the 2020 cap while carrying an equal amount as a dead money hit.

Bills Sign Stephen Hauschka To Extension

August 28th, 2019 at 2:44pm CST by Zachary Links

Stephen Hauschka isn’t going anywhere. On Wednesday, the Bills announced a brand new two-year extension for their kicker.

Prior to the deal, Hauschka was due to hit free agency after earning $2.25MM in salary and bonuses in 2019. Now, he’s under club control through 2021 and has clear assurance that he’ll beat out Chase McLaughlin for the Bills’ kicking job.

Hauschka spent the bulk of his career with the Seahawks and had stops with the Ravens and Broncos before landing with the Bills in 2017. Since then, he’s nailed 83.6% of his field goals, though last year (78.6%) was a bit rocky.

For his career, Hauschka has converted on 86.4% of his FG tries, including a pair of 93%+ showings in Seattle. His 2018 percentage was a career low, but his new deal may give him the confidence to turn things around.

AFC Notes: Chiefs, Browns, Kap, Bills

May 26th, 2017 at 9:02pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest news and notes from the AFC:

The Chiefs have announced several changes to their front office, including the hiring of Tim Terry as director of pro personnel and the promotion of Ryan Poles from college scouting coordinator to director of college scouting. Terry is joining his second NFL organization after spending the first 13 years of his career in Green Bay, where he was most recently the team’s assistant director of pro personnel. General manager John Dorsey was in the Packers’ front office before the Chiefs hired him in 2013, so he’s already familiar with Terry. Kansas City’s Dorsey-led front office also pried Chris Shea away from Philadelphia. Shea, the Chiefs’ new salary cap and legal executive, previously served as the Eagles’ director of scouting administration.
Former NFL head coach and current 49ers assistant Eric Mangini believes that Colin Kaepernick would be a great fit for the Browns. “I think as the market settles and people start looking at these young quarterbacks they brought in and start evaluating the quarterback situation, they might realize it may not look as good as they hoped it would be,” Mangini told PFT. “I always thought he would be a good fit for the Browns. Hue [Jackson’s] system is multiple shifts and motions, and that’s what he did in San Francisco. Hue has an element of quarterback-driven runs, I think Colin is excellent as that. As a candidate, him vs. RGIII a year ago, I’d take Colin 10 times out of 10.” So far, the Browns have shown no interest in Kaepernick. To date, only Seattle has given him a real look.
Currently, the Bills are not projected to receive any 2018 compensatory picks because they signed more unrestricted free agents (seven) to qualifying contracts than they lost to other teams (five). However, the Bills can change that, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com writes. By releasing a total of four of their seven signed free agents between now and Week 10, the Bills would be projected to tack on two compensatory picks – one being a third-rounder for losing cornerback Stephon Gilmore plus a fourth-rounder for losing wide receiver Robert Woods. The most likely UFAs to go, in Rodak’s estimation, are defensive end Ryan Davis, offensive lineman Vlad Ducasse, and wide receiver Andre Holmes. To secure that fourth-round pick, they could also cut fullback Patrick DiMarco or kicker Steven Hauschka.

NFC West Rumors: Cards, Seahawks, Rams

March 29th, 2017 at 9:08pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians feels only one 2017 quarterback prospect is ready to play immediately, but he wouldn’t divulge the identity of said player, according to Pat McManamon of ESPN.com. Arizona may be amenable to finding Carson Palmer‘s long-term successor this year, especially after the veteran quarterback flirted with retirement before announcing his intention to return. “It would be one of the best situations for a young quarterback to walk into,” said Arians, noting a youthful signal-caller could sit behind Palmer for a year or two, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

After spending the first four seasons of his career as a running back, Andre Ellington will play receiver for the Cardinals next year, Arians confirmed today (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com). Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic reported earlier this month Ellington would likely play more receiver than running back in 2017. With Ellington moving to the WR room, the Cardinals may need to another back, as Kerwynn Williams is the only runner on the roster behind David Johnson.
Running back Marshawn Lynch did not ask Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll to remove him from the reserve/retired list when the pair talked 10 days ago, reports Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Lynch, of course, is reportedly considering a comeback but wants to play for the Raiders, not Seattle. Before any such move can take place, the Seahawks need to process Lynch off the retired list.
Kicker Steven Hauschka “capped out three times higher” than what the Seahawks were willing to pay, Carroll told reporters, including Condotta (Twitter link). The Bills signed Hauschka to a three-year, $8.85MM deal that includes $4MM in full guarantees, while Seattle went with a far cheaper option. Blair Walsh is the Seahawks’ new kicker after inking a one-year pact worth just north of $1MM.
Although general manager Les Snead will make the final call on draft day, new Rams head coach Sean McVay and his staff will play a large role in setting the team’s board, according to Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter links). Los Angeles has needs all over the roster, but won’t make a selection until Round Two after trading the farm for Jared Goff in 2016. Under McVay and new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, the Rams will be running new schemes on both sides of the ball, meaning communication between the field staff and the front office will be crucial as the draft approaches.
Evan Boehm will enter camp as the Cardinals‘ starting right guard, Arians told reporters, including Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910 (Twitter link). Now entering his second NFL season, Boehm started only one game last year and played in just 10.6% of Arizona’s offensive snaps. The Cards are seeking to replace Evan Mathis and Earl Watford, who departed via retirement and free agency, respectively.

East Notes: Harmon, Giants, Hauschka, Jets

March 18th, 2017 at 3:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Duron Harmon wasn’t connected to many teams during his first instance as an NFL free agent. Part of that may have stemmed from the fifth-year safety’s desire to stay with the Patriots. Although he’s only started 12 games in four years, Harmon received lower-end starter money from the defending Super Bowl champions.

“Coming back to New England, that’s ultimately what I wanted to do. I love it here,” Harmon said via Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. “In the end, just coming back here really wasn’t a hard decision. It was something that I ultimately wanted to do.”

Part of that reasoning was a confidence the Bill Belichick– and Matt Patricia-led defense would deploy him best. He played as a nickel defender for most of last season, joining Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung in those looks. His $4.25MM AAV is tied for 35th in the league among safeties. The Dolphins emerged as a possible contender for Harmon’s second contract, but no indication came that Harmon turned down more money from another team.

“That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to come back, they know how to use me,” Harmon said, per Howe. “They know how to really get the best out of me and I want to continue to grow being a part of this defense.”

Here’s more from the East divisions.

Brandon Marshall‘s Giants cap charges will be $4.5MM in 2017 and $6.5MM in 2018, Dan Duggan of NJ.com reports. The 12th-year wide receiver will make a fully guaranteed $3MM this season. Marshall is due a nonguaranteed $5MM for 2018, which will be his age-34 season.
New York’s John Jerry re-up will see the veteran guard stand to earn a $925K fully guaranteed base salary in 2017 and have a ’17 cap hit of $1.75MM, per Duggan. Jerry will count $4.125MM against the 2018 cap, although only $925K of that is guaranteed — and that guarantee is for injury only. If Jerry is still on the Giants in 2019, he’ll have a $3.05MM base and a $4.125MM cap charge.
Rhett Ellison‘s four-year Giants pact has the tight end’s cap charges at $2.25MM (2017), $3.75MM (2018), $5.75MM (2019) and $6.25MM (2020), according to Duggan. Ellison’s $975K base salary this season is fully guaranteed, as is $2.025MM of his $2.475MM base salary for 2018.
New Bills kicker Steven Hauschka called the Seahawks’ decision to release him and replace him with Blair Walsh an “interesting” one. “I thought it was interesting that direction that they would go in,” Hauschka said, per Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. “But I’m not really concerned about that anymore because my job’s just to go out there and kick and that really doesn’t have anything to do with me now. But, yeah, it was definitely an interesting move.” Hauschka will make $2.6MM from the Bills this season ($1.6MM base/$1MM signing bonus) after collecting $2.7MM from the Seahawks in 2016. Walsh will earn an $800K base and a $300K roster bonus in Seattle.
The Jets‘ decision not to pursue Colin Kaepernick is probably about more than just his quarterbacking acumen, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. We heard earlier today the Jets were not the team that nearly signed the 29-year-old passer, and Cimini connects the dots between owner Woody Johnson — a Republican fundraiser and recently nominated to become ambassador to Great Britain — and the likely media frenzy that would occur if Kaepernick played in New York as reasonable issues that are standing in the way of the Jets pushing to add the ex-49ers QB. The Jets have been connected to both Jay Cutler and Josh McCown.

East Notes: Jets, Eagles, Jenkins, Bills

March 16th, 2017 at 7:54pm CST by Zachary Links

Muhammad Wilkerson, who inked a monster extension with the Jets last year, appears to be extremely out of shape, according to multiple scouts who saw him at Temple’s Pro Day (via Manish Mehta of the Daily News). Wilkerson’s listed weight last season was 315 pounds and it’s unclear how heavy he is at the moment. The Jets effectively chose Wilkerson over fellow defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson last year by giving him the long-term deal and, so far, it’s not clear if Wilkerson will reward the Jets for their confidence in him. Last year Wilkerson had just 4.5 sacks, the lowest total since his rookie season. This year, he’s set to carry a $18MM cap number with a fully guaranteed $14.75MM base salary, so a trade is probably out of the question. Meanwhile, Brian Costello of the New York Post (on Twitter) posted a picture of Wilkerson from just last week in which he appears to be in the same shape he was last year.

A bit more from the NFL’s East divisions:

Eagles GM Howie Roseman continues to shoot down rumors that he offered up Malcolm Jenkins in trade talks for Brandin Cooks. His latest denial is the firmest one to date (Twitter link via 97.5 The Fanatic). “The Brandin Cooks, Malcolm Jenkins thing kind of gets under my skin. We were never going to trade Malcolm Jenkins,” Roseman said.
Initially reported as a four-year deal, kicker Steven Hauschka‘s pact with the Bills is actually a three-year contract, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). It’s worth $8.85MM, nearly half of which ($4MM) is guaranteed.
In case you missed it, Gang Green agreed to a deal with longtime Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne on Thursday.