With two kickers currently struggling in their battle for the starting job in Dallas, the team will reportedly bring in more competition.
That’s music to the ears of many Cowboys fans. But one of the kickers will be a song many wanted to never hear again.
Brett Maher, who kicked for the Cowboys in 2018 and 2019, is being brought back for a new tryout, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, who cited two individuals familiar with the situation.
Matt Ammendola, Cole Murphy, and JJ Molson will also come to Oxnard for workouts and a kicking evaluation.
Undrafted free agent Jonathan Garibay and former CFL star Lirim Hajrullahu have been underwhelming thus far at camp, though Hajrullahu seems to have taken a slight edge in his make percentage in recent days.
The Kosovo-born specialist went 8-for-8 on Monday, the first perfect day for either kicker in this year’s training camp. Garibay, the Texas Tech product, went 6-for-8.
Maher replaced Dan Bailey for the 2018 season. He ended that season with an 80.6% success rate on 36 field goals and connected on six of over 50 yards, including a then-franchise record 62-yarder versus Philadelphia. He repeated the feat early in 2019 with another 62-yard boot, and then hit a 63-yarder just a couple weeks later.
But frequent misses from more pedestrian distances led to his release in December of that season. He went on to practice squad slots with the Jets, Commanders, Texans, and Cardinals before landing with the Saints for a few weeks in 2021. He went 1-of-2 on field goal tries against the Cowboys in Week 13.
Ammedola was an NFL newcomer last season, making 13 of 19 field goals for the Jets, with a long of 49 yards.
Murphy comes from the USFL, where he went 11-for-12 with the Michigan Panthers, including a 60-yarder against New Orleans.
Molson is a UCLA alum who spent 2021 time on the Packers practice squad and was an emergency option behind Mason Crosby.
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