The Carolina Panthers, more than likely, signed Dominik Eberle on Tuesday just to give Joey Slye a little kick in the butt. Now, we could instead be looking at a situation where Eberle ends up kicking Slye in the butt and out of the door.
Slye’s struggles continued into Wednesday’s practice, where the current starter missed each of his first three field goal attempts during 11-on-11 drills. The misses came from 39, 44 and 49 yards out.
Eberle, in the same spots, went for 2-for-3 on his tries. His miss came on the 49-yarder.
Joey Slye just went 0-3in field goal drills. Dominik Eberle went 2-3 from the same distances. Eberle had a do-over of his last kick from 49-yards after a bad snap from Thomas Fletcher. Missed it on the second attempt
— Alaina Getzenberg (@agetzenberg) August 25, 2021
All was not completely lost, however, as Slye did come back to nail his next two kicks in a pair of high-pressure scenarios. Eberle would follow suit, finishing his day hitting on four of his five attempts.
After practice, head coach Matt Rhule still expressed confidence in Slye, but did leave a little cliffhanger out there following today’s performances.
“I know that Joey can do it. I just hope he can get through the lull he’s in,” Rhule said. “We are keeping all options open.”
The Panthers have stuck with Slye throughout the offseason. They hadn’t forced him to face any type of competition almost all summer and continue to vocalize their support for the troubled kicker. But how much longer, as he has yet to turn it back around, will that last?
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