The Arizona Cardinals had to go with a different kicker last weekend against the New York Giants. Zane Gonzalez suffered a back injury late in the week that kept him from playing. That led to Mike Nugent’s elevation from the practice squad and his going 4-for-4 no field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points.
Nugent’s number might be up again this weekend against the Philadelphia Eagles. Gonzalez’ status is up in the air as he missed practice on Wednesday.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury isn’t worried if he has to go with Nugent instead of Gonzalez.
“He’s got a great approach,” Kingsbury told reporters on Wednesday. “He’s been around this league a lot and kicked at a high level for a long time, so we feel confident. It was a great job what he did and we feel confident in what he can do if called upon again.”
Kingsbury was pleased with how things went against the Giants.
There was a little extra for him because Nugent was actually a teammate of his years ago in Kingsbury’s playing days when he was with the New York Jets. Kingsbury’s one year with the Jets in 2005 was Nugent’s rookie season.
“I’ve known him for a long time, so to see him come back to New York and have that type of afternoon was awesome,” Kingsbury said after the game on Sunday. “He’s been great since he’s been here, brings great energy, veteran presence to the building, so I couldn’t be more impressed by the way he handled that today.”
Nugent, now 38 years old, hasn’t had a full-time position with an NFL team since 2016.
He will have to deal with uncertainty again this week.
“We’ll kind of see where it goes with Zane,” Kingsbury said of the back injury. “It’s day-to-day, so I’m sure that will be sorted out later in the week.”
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