The Cowboys these days are doing their best impression of that dog in the “This is Fine” meme, completely content to sit in a room on fire and wait for their kicker situation to work itself out before it all goes up in flames.
Even when another team tries to offer a garden hose.
Todd Archer of ESPN reports that the Jacksonville Jaguars reached out to the Cowboys last week about a potential trade for third-year kicker Riley Patterson. The Jags originally announced that Patterson would be waived upon their signing of former Broncos specialist Brandon McManus, but then worked out a deal hours later to send him to Detroit in exchange for a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2026 draft.
But it appears that Jacksonville had also contacted Dallas about the 23-year-old Memphis product.
Patterson spent time in camp with the Vikings in 2021 and then joined the Patriots’ practice squad in October of that same season. Detroit signed him in November, and he went 13-of-14 in field goals and 16-of-16 on PATs the rest of the way for the Lions, even claiming NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors late in the season.
After being waived late in camp last summer, Patterson found himself claimed by Jacksonville just prior to the start of the 2022 season. He had a good season statistically, connecting on 30 of 35 field goal tries (with four of those five misses coming from 40 yards or beyond) and 36 of 37 extra point attempts.
Dallas got a good up-close view for themselves of Patterson’s accuracy in December.
It was Patterson’s 48-yard boot with a minute left in regulation that sent the team’s Week 15 visit to Jacksonville into overtime; then he went on to win the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award just a few days later after a perfect 5-for-5 Thursday night versus the Jets.
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Patterson also ended up one of the heroes of Jacksonville’s historic come-from-behind win over the Chargers in the wild-card round of the postseason, kicking the game-winning field goal from 36 yards away as time expired.
But none of that mattered much to the Jags when McManus hit free agency on May 25, nor did it apparently make much of an impression on the Cowboys when the Jaguars came calling with a possible fix for the team’s obvious need at the kicking position.
McManus was inked by Jacksonville, Patterson returned to the Lions, and the unproven Tristan Vizcaino remains the only active kicker on the Dallas roster.
The Cowboys are expected to being in competition for him, but have thus far allowed veterans like Robbie Gould, Mason Crosby, and Ryan Succop to stay on the market.
Because apparently this is fine.
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