Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy says situation at kicker is 'fluid'
The Dallas Cowboys won’t be signing veteran kicker Brandon McManus and the situation at the position is “still fluid,” according to head coach Mike McCarthy on Thursday. McManus, cut by the Broncos on Tuesday, was considered a good option for Dallas but ultimately signed with the Jaguars on Thursday.
Dallas chose not to re-up on Brett Maher after he became the first kicker ever to miss four extra-point attempts in a single game last season. The roster still has one other kicker, Tristan Vizcaino, but McCarthy isn’t ready to hand him the job without a challenger.
“I’d definitely say it’s fluid,” McCarthy said on Thursday. “We’ll continue to work that. XFL, USFL, we’re looking at all the options. We definitely want to have competition at the kicking position.”
There are several more veteran options on the free agents list right now. However, special teams coach John Fassel has also mentioned potentially looking toward the lesser leagues for a kicker.
“Anybody else on Earth who is not on the team right now, is under consideration,” Fassel said, via the team’s website. “That’s everyone really. I think we have a lot of different guys that we’re still looking at — XFL, USFL, veterans on the street, younger guys who still haven’t found their way.”
By looking to the lower levels of the game, the Cowboys could save a bit on cap space. The Lions recently signed John Parker Romo from the XFL. He led the league in field goals made this season. Dallas could go a similar route.
If Vizcaino ends up winning the job, the Cowboys would start a kicker who’s made 11-of-12 field goals over the last three seasons. He’s also 15-for-20 on extra-point attempts.
Cowboys preparing for ‘pretty wild’ special teams competition
Most know that the Cowboys are expecting an open competition at kicker this offseason. However, Fassel also told reporters that figuring out the rest of the special teams group this summer will be “pretty wild.”
“There’s a few [spots] on special teams where it’s wide open,” Fassel said, via DallasCowboys.com. “So, training camp should be pretty wild.”
Dallas lost two key special teams contributors in free agency. There are several more spots up for grabs as rookies and younger players work to unseat their more veteran counterparts.
Noah Brown, now with the Houston Texans, was a versatile component of the blocking scheme, while new Titans linebacker Luke Gifford was one of the top tacklers on special teams last season.
“We’ve talked about that with our vets and with our rookies the last couple days,” Fassel said before the Cowboys begin OTAs on Tuesday. “Noah was a fantastic special teams guy for us. Gifford was one of the best in the league — great special teams guy for us, and we were the first ones to congratulate him on a new opportunity with the door open for somebody else to step in to fill that.”
Special teams can be one of the best ways to make the official roster if late-round picks or undrafted free agents can’t carved out a role on offense or defense.
“They know that it’s open competition and there’s not room for everybody,” Fassel said. “We don’t put pressure on it. We say this is competition, help your teammate out, challenge them, make each other better, and there will be some really cool battles where our team has a lot of spots that are ‘he’s going to be the starter, he’s going to be the starter, he’s going to be the starter.’”