Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Get to know new Jets kicker Eddy Piñeiro, who was signed after Alex Kessman missed two extra points against the Eagles.
The Jets turned to a familiar face to replace Alex Kessman after he missed two extra points against the Eagles, signing Eddy Piñeiro on Monday.
Piñeiro had worked out for New York before it settled on Kessman as its replacement for the struggling Matt Ammendola, who was coincidentally re-signed to the practice squad on Tuesday. Now Piñeiro will get his chance to bring stability to the Jets’ sputtering kicking game.
Here are seven things to know about New York’s newest kicker.
The Jets are signing former Bears kicker Eddy Piñeiro. The move comes a day after Alex Kessman missed 2 extra-point attempts vs. the Eagles.
The Jets didn’t waste time adding another kicker after Alex Kessman’s rough debut.
New York is signing former Bears kicker Eddy Piñeiro, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The move comes a day after Kessman missed two extra points in the Jets’ 33-18 loss to the Eagles. Robert Saleh did not call his number again after that.
Piñeiro tried out for New York on Thursday before the team released Matt Ammendola and made Kessman its Week 13 kicker. Piñeiro hasn’t kicked since 2019 when he converted 82.1 percent of his field-goal attempts and 93.1 percent of his extra-point attempts for the Bears. He missed the entire 2020 season with a groin injury. Piñeiro couldn’t find a job in 2021 after stints with the Colts and Washington. He was released on an injury settlement by Washington in September.
The Jets hope Piñeiro can finally end the team’s kicking woes. Piñeiro would be the seventh kicker to play for the Jets since 2019 if he suits up at some point this season. During that span, the Jets have missed the most field goals and extra points in the league, according to Jets X-Factor’s Michael Nania. The team’s field goal and extra point conversion rate over that span are 31st and 32nd, respectively.
The Jets have been even worse in the kicking department this year. Ammendola made just 68.4 percent of his attempts before the Jets cut him. Ammendola and Kessman have missed three extra points this season.
Piñeiro isn’t guaranteed to be better, but he can’t get much worse than what the Jets have been working with.
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Alex Kessman is likely out as the Jets’ kicker after his disastrous performance against the Eagles. Here are some options to replace him:
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Alex Kessman’s tenure with the Jets is likely coming to an end before Gang Green takes the field against the Saints in Week 14.
New York cut Matt Ammendola prior to its matchup with the Eagles, giving Kessman the chance to take over as its kicker. The Pittsburgh product bombed his audition, missing two extra points in the first quarter of New York’s blowout loss in Week 13. Robert Saleh never called Kessman’s number again, opting to attempt two-point and fourth-down conversions instead of risking another miss.
“We’ll get someone else in the building and we’ll keep going until something works,” Saleh said postgame.
Kessman said that he won’t “let two kicks define me,” but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Jets let his pair of PAT attempts define — and end — his time in New York. With that in mind, here are six available kickers the Jets could bring in.
Zach Wilson’s strong first half was spoiled by Eagles QB Gardner Minshew and the Jets’ disastrous defense. Recap:
The Jets were well aware that they had never beaten the Eagles prior to Week 13, but they didn’t do much to end that streak on Sunday.
New York fell to 0-12 all-time against Philadelphia, losing 33-18 at MetLife Stadium. Zach Wilson found the end zone three times in the first half, but Gang Green’s sputtering defense and Eagles QB Gardner Minshew conspired to limit the rookie quarterback’s opportunities in the second half. Wilson and the offense didn’t exactly seize the few chances they did get, and the officiating added enough questionable calls that Robert Saleh erupted on multiple occasions.
With the loss, the Jets are now 3-9 and looking at two high draft picks. The 6-7 Eagles are too, though they remain alive in the NFC playoff hunt.
The Jets’ latest kicking competition has been decided.
The Jets’ latest kicking competition has been decided.
New York has released Matt Ammendola and signed Alex Kessman to the active roster. The moves come after Ammendola missed three field goals over his last two games, thus prompting New York to hold an open competition in practice this week.
Ammendola, Gang Green’s kicker since the start of the season, made 68.4% of his 19 field goal attempts.
Kessman joined New York’s practice squad on Nov. 24. He does not have any regular-season experience, but he did have an accomplished — if not always accurate — career at Pitt. The undrafted free agent spent time with the Chargers over the summer. Now Kessman will be the Jets’ kicker when they host the Eagles.
Should he not perform well, the Jets could look elsewhere next week. Former Bears K Eddy Piñeiro worked out for New York this week, a sign that the team was considering external options.
For now, the job belongs to Kessman. That can change, though.
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Get to know new Jets kicker Alex Kessman, who was signed to the practice squad Tuesday to challenge the struggling Matt Ammendola.
The Jets brought in a new kicker on Tuesday after Matt Ammendola missed two field goals against the Dolphins, signing Alex Kessman to the practice squad.
Ammendola missed field goal attempts of 40 and 55 yards against Miami, costing New York in a game it lost by just seven points. Ammendola has converted just 68.8% of his kicks this season and his job is no longer fully safe with Kessman’s arrival in the Big Apple.
Here are four things to know about the Jets’ newest kicker.
New Orleans Saints work out free agent kickers including two rookies:
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The clock is ticking on the New Orleans Saints. Literally — at the time of writing this post, they had fewer than 99 hours until their next preseason game, and they still haven’t found a healthy kicker. Wil Lutz is recovering from core muscle surgery. A similar injury landed Brett Maher, signed to replace him, on injured reserve. There aren’t many other positions that you can plug into the lineup and hit the field for a game, but the Saints really were taking this down to the wire.
So it’s good to see them take some action and bring in three free agent kickers for a group workout on Thursday. We’ll see if any of them end up signing with New Orleans, but for now here’s what you need to know about each of them:
Ahead of the mandatory roster cuts, the Chargers released three players.
Prior to signing long snapper Matt Overton, the Chargers released three players to get their roster down to 85 ahead of the mandatory roster cuts by 1 pm PT on Tuesday.
Los Angeles let go of kicker Alex Kessman, punter Lachlan Edwards and wide receiver Michael Bandy.
With Kessman gone, the competition for the starting kicker comes down to Michael Badgley and Tristan Vizcaino, while Ty Long now remains the only punter on the roster.
After the acquisition of Overton, the roster currently sits at 86 players, one more than the deadline threshold.
With Cole Mazza dealing with a shoulder injury that he sustained in the preseason opener, the plan could be to place him on the injured reserve, which would then meet the number requirement.
Or, the team could be intending to release another player by tomorrow.
Tristan Vizcaino had a bounce-back performance.
Chargers kickers Michael Badgley and Tristan Vizcaino’s performances were showered in boos by over 30,000 people that were in attendance for practice at SoFi Stadium this past Sunday.
At practice Wednesday, it was Vizcaino who had a bounce-back outing, finishing with a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals. Badgley, on the other hand, went 3 of 5, with his longest being from 46 yards.
Undrafted free agent Alex Kessman has been overshadowed by the two because he hasn’t rotated in with the first team all that often and he finished 2 of 6 this past weekend.
Practices have been a gauge as to who has the early leg up (no pun intended), but the preseason games will tell all. Not only will there be field goals and extra points to be made, kickoffs will also be a determining factor.
In my latest 53-man roster, I have Vizcaino winning the starting job but only will time tell.
Fans at SoFi Stadium were left disappointed by the kickers on Sunday.
With the Chargers starting kicker job up for grabs, no one was able to move the needle on Sunday.
In fact, the showings were so underwhelming that they received boos from fans who were in attendance for the team’s Fan Fest at SoFi Stadium.
Michael Badgley went 4-for-7, with his misses coming from 41, 49 and 51 yards. Badgley did manage to make one from 55 yards out to end a two-minute drive.
Tristan Vizcaino finished 4-for-6, missing kicks from 38 and 49 yards. Undrafted free agent Alex Kessman’s day wasn’t any better, ending his session 2-for-6.
Sunday’s performance didn’t offer much to be optimistic about for those watching, considering incompetent special teams is what cost Los Angeles some games last season.
All kickers have split the uprights from beyond 50 yards up to this point, but no one has separated themselves from the pack when it comes to consistent accuracy.
Still, with a handful of practices and three preseason games, there is plenty of time for someone to prove themselves to the coaching staff.
