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Washington coach Ron Rivera met with the media on Monday after Washington’s latest loss to the Denver Broncos. A hot topic was Washington kicker Chris Blewitt, who had two kicks blocked on Sunday after having one blocked in his NFL debut last week.
When asked if Blewitt would remain as Washington’s kicker, Rivera offered this response:
“For now,” Rivera said, per Scott Abraham of ABC 7 in Washington, D.C.
Ron Rivera on if Chris Blewitt will remain their kicker…
"For now. Kickers are hard to find. Consistent kickers are even harder to find."— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) November 1, 2021
On Tuesday, Rivera made his weekly appearance on the “The Sports Junkies” on 106.7 The Fan in D.C., and said he would not be bringing in any competition for Washington’s kicker during the bye week.
Ron Rivera says Washington will not bring in any kicking competition during the bye week. Quotes via @JunksRadio/@1067theFan
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) November 2, 2021
Washington is off in Week 9 before hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10.
I wouldn’t put too much stock in Rivera’s quote right now. While Washington is on bye this week, that doesn’t mean the team won’t bring in kickers next week. Rivera know he blew it with this move, and Washington has a razor-thin margin for error.
Perhaps the head coach is willing to give Blewitt another game. Who knows, maybe Rivera keeps the kicker all season. After all, Rivera has stated how hard it is to find a reliable kicker, a point he raised when before Washington released longtime kicker Dustin Hopkins.
Another situation to monitor is the status of kicker Joey Slye. The 49ers released Slye on Tuesday when veteran Robbie Gould returned. The 25-year-old Slye kicked for Rivera with the Panthers in 2019, and had an up-and-down season. However, since that time, Slye has kicked for the Texans and 49ers.
While Slye may not be the final solution, he has kicked in the NFL, with success, and he doesn’t have 60% of his kicks blocked.
It will be interesting to see how Rivera handles the kicking situation over the next several weeks.