Tress Way has been the Washington Commanders’ punter since 2014 and opponents have to prepare for him differently each week. That’s because Way kicks with his left foot.
So it was that Cardinals special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers was asked earlier this week if he does things differently in the days leading up to a game against a left-footed punter.
He said, “Sometimes,” while acknowledging that “the ball definitely spins differently. More people are probably familiar with a baseball pitcher who’s right-handed or left-handed. The ball spins and tails differently. So, there are ways that we can tweak the Jugs machine to help with those things at times.
“Sometimes there might be a guy that works out for you. Some teams sign guys to the practice squad. So, yeah, there’s a number of things that we’ll do to take that into account.”
What the Cardinals did Friday was bring in veteran NFL punter Michael Palardy, who hasn’t been in the league since being cut by the Commanders on Aug. 23, 2023, to punt to Greg Dortch and DeeJay Dallas. The previous season he was with the Patriots and has also played for the Panthers and Dolphins. The workouts are reported as tryouts to the league.
On Thursday, left-footed punter Brock Miller worked out for the Chargers, which faces Chiefs punter Matt Araiza Sunday, while Brad Wing did the same with the Colts prior to their Sunday game against Corliss Waitman of the Steelers. Palardy worked out with the Broncos before their Week 2 game against Pittsburgh.
Dallas noted that when he was with the Seahawks last season, he faced Way.
“You prepare for everything,” Dallas said, while emphasizing that the ball falls to the left when kicked by a righty and the opposite when it’s a lefty. “I played against the Commanders last year and caught the ball off the lefty. It wasn’t bad, but it’s always good to get extra reps.”
Araiza, who is in his first NFL season, told reporters during training camp, “Being a lefty, the ball rotates a different way. So, especially when the ball starts moving, you know it’ll tail at the last second. Sometimes, they’re (the returners) not even close to five yards away.”
Miller has had an average of about five or six “tryouts” a year, always hoping it might lead to a real job at some point. He has been on practice squads with the 49ers, Giants and Rams while also kicking in the XFL, USFL and this past season with the UFL’s Michigan Panthers.
He recently said, “It’s giving their returners a chance to catch a counter-clockwise, left-footed spiral off a live leg instead of a machine. That’s the common denominator with these quote-unquote workouts.”
Meanwhile, there was an oddity Friday as the Cardinals also reported tryouts with two kickers: Anders Carlson and Chad Ryland.
Neither kicks left-footed and Matt Prater is not on the injury report, so it might simply be taking a look at young kickers for the future.
Carlson and Ryland were both drafted in 2023 and kicked for their teams all season before being waived last month in the cut to 53 players.
Ryland was a fourth-round pick of the Patriots and Carlson a sixth-round choice by the Packers. New England’s current kicker is veteran Joey Slye, while rookie undrafted free agent Brayden Narveson is with Green Bay after being claimed on waivers from the Titans after the cut to 53.
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