The Cowboys gave Greg “The Leg” Zuerlein the boot earlier this month. But he’ll be issued the rest of his 2022 uniform by the New York Jets.
The Jets signed the veteran kicker to a one-year contract worth $2.75 million, according to Jets Wire. He’s expected to compete with New York’s current kicker, Eddy Piñeiro, for the starting job this season.
High hopes rested on Zuerlein’s right foot when he joined the Cowboys in 2020. But despite a reunion with his longtime Rams special teams coordinator John Fassel, Zuerlein’s accuracy never returned to its 2017 All-Pro level.
Zuerlein made just 82.9% of his field goal attempts both seasons in Dallas. His PAT percentage dropped from 91.7% in 2020 to 87.5% to 2021; his six missed extra points last year were the most in the NFL. The Cowboys lost three games last season by three points or less; Zuerlein missed at least one kick in all of them.
Just before the Cowboys’ wild card-round game versus San Francisco, Fassel was asked about his struggling specialist and how to judge when a kicker no longer has “it.”
“There might come a time where, yeah, he doesn’t get it back. But this time isn’t now,” Fassel said in January. “I just have full faith in Greg. I do, and if I’m wrong, then I’ll be wrong. But just really think that I’m going to be right. I guess we’ll see.”
Dallas released Zuerlein exactly two months later in a move to clear $2.5 million of salary cap space. Re-signing him on a smaller deal was an option; the Cowboys even made him an offer to return, according to the team website.
But news of a signing coming out of the Jets camp means the Cowboys will be forced to move in a new direction.
There had been some rumblings about Dallas bringing him back on a reduced contract.
I assume most Cowboys fans are ok that it worked out this way instead. https://t.co/MFMkSilVTz
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) March 26, 2022
The team signed Chris Naggar earlier this offseason. But with just one pro game on his resumé, the SMU product will likely have to battle to become the Cowboys’ new starter.
There are a few veteran kickers available in free agency, should Dallas choose to go that route. They could look to Fassel’s long personnel file of kickers who he keeps tabs on, or even seek out a rookie prospect via the upcoming draft.
Among this year’s college class, Cameron Dicker of Texas, Cade York out of LSU, Oklahoma’s Gabe Brkic, Wake Forest’s Nick Sciba, and Chandler Staton of Appalachian State are names to potentially keep in mind.
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