Tag: Austin Seibert

Steelers vs Commanders injury update: Special teams might be the difference this week

The Commanders could be without kicker Austin Seibert on Sunday.

No team in the NFL does more with their special teams than the Pittsburgh Steelers. Whether it’s the kicking game, blocking kicks, or the return game, this group is as good as any in the NFL. They go into most games with an edge and this week against the Washington Commanders, the advantage might be even greater.

The Commanders put out their game-status report for Sunday’s game against the Steelers and they have starting kicker Austin Seibert listed as questionable with a right hip injury.

If Seibert cannot go, the Commanders would turn to veteran Zane Gonzalez. They signed him to their practice squad this week. Gonzalez is an 80 percent career kicker and hasn’t played any meaningful football since 2021. He’s definitely a step down from Seibert who is 25-for-27 on his field goal tries this season.

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Commanders could be without kicker Austin Seibert Sunday vs. Steelers

Washington signed kicker Zane Gonzalez to the practice squad. He’ll kick if Seibert doesn’t play.

The Washington Commanders will be without starting running back Brian Robinson Jr. and newly acquired cornerback Marshon Lattimore on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

However, the Commanders could be without another key member of their roster for Sunday. In Friday’s final injury report, Washington listed kicker Austin Seibert as questionable for the Week 10 showdown. Seibert has dealt with a right hip injury. Seibert missed Wednesday’s practice and was limited on Thursday and Friday.

Seibert signed ahead of Week 2 after the Commanders waived Cade York. He booted seven field goals in his first game, a 21-18 win over the Giants. He’s made an NFL-high 25 of 27 attempts this season and connected on all 22 points after attempts.

With Seibert questionable, the Commanders signed veteran kicker Zane Gonzalez on Friday. Washington must decide on Saturday whether or not to elevate him to the 53-man roster.

Gonzalez entered the NFL in 2017 as a seventh-round pick of the Cleveland Browns, where he spent two seasons. He’s also kicked for the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers. He’s made 91 of 113 career field goals with a long of 57 yards.

The Commanders (7-2) lead the NFC East and play the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football next week.

Commanders kicker Austin Seibert named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week

The dream week continues for Austin Seibert.

It’s been a week for new Washington Commanders kicker Austin Seibert to remember. Signed last Tuesday to replace Cade York, who struggled in his only game for Washington, Seibert made all seven field goal attempts in Sunday’s win over the Giants. Included among those seven field goals was the game-winner as time expired.

Seibert’s dream week continued Wednesday, as he was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 2.

The 27-year-old Seibert was a fifth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 2019 NFL draft. He has spent time with the Browns, Bengals, Lions, Saints and two stints with the Jets. It was during his second stint with the Jets that Washington paid close attention to Seibert during this summer’s joint practice and preseason game.

Here’s some Seibert highlights from Sunday:

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1835740438772302160

Seibert’s seven field goals made in one game is second in NFL history to Rob Bironas, who set the record back in 2007. Seibert is one of 10 kickers to make seven field goals in a game.

Seibert is the seventh kicker in Washington history to win the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award.

 

 

New Commanders kicker Austin Seibert has an unusual way of training

Seibert discussed how he got ready for his opportunity with Washington.

How do kickers practice in the offseason? For most kickers on a team or looking for a team, you’ll find them at a practice field somewhere, launching as many kicks as possible through the uprights.

Not new Washington Commanders kicker Austin Seibert.

The new Washington kicker, signed last week, was busy on his first day for his new team. Seibert attempted seven field goals — making them all — in the Commanders’ 21-18 win over the New York Giants on Sunday. Seibert scored all 21 points for his team, including a game-winning 30-yard field goal as time expired to give Washington its first win.

Seibert revealed after the game that to prepare, he kicked at a pine tree next to his house as he awaited a call from an NFL team.

“In the offseason, I have a lot next to my house, and there’s a pine tree,” Seibert said. “And I go out and kick at this pine tree; I don’t go to a field anymore; I kick at this pine tree. I tell myself, ‘Hit the tree.’ Go out there and trust my technique, and it’s been working for me.”

Seibert then discussed how his preparation is a family affair.

“Well, we go three days a week,” Seibert said. “My wife will film me, and my daughter will be out there with us, too. And we’ll hit like 25-30 balls. It’s fun. It’s a family event.”

https://twitter.com/Commanders/status/1835414714324754687

Don’t be surprised if more kickers don’t follow Seibert’s unusual approach. Like most kickers, the 27-year-old Seibert has bounced around some since entering the NFL in 2019. However, during the summer, when Seibert was kicking for the Jets, Washington general manager Adam Peters took notice, placing Seibert on the team’s emergency kicker list.

The Jets released Seibert, sticking with veteran Greg Zeurlein.

You couldn’t have scripted a better debut as Seibert broke the franchise record for field goals made in a game, kicked the game-winner, and ended the game on the shoulders of his new teammates.

Perhaps Washington has finally found its kicker of the present and future.

What everyone said after the Commanders’ Week 2 win vs. Giants

A collection of postgame quotes after the Commanders’ win over the Giants.

On Sunday, the Washington Commanders defeated the New York Giants 21-18 on Austin Seibert’s game-winning field goal as time expired.

Here are some selected postgame quotes regarding the Commanders’ win.

“I think you got to feel very, very strong about today’s performance by the Washington Commanders offensively, with the caveat that they kicked seven field goals, and some of those need to be touchdowns.”  Logan Paulsen

“There is not a lot of pass rush happening right now. Whether it is the guys in the middle who are getting paid a lot of money or these edge guys. Is that as much of a problem as it feels like it is, and then what do they do about it?”  Craig Hoffman

“Washington worked so much on the red zone throughout camp. But, man, it has not yet paid off, to put it mildly. Too many mistakes/penalties each trip.”  John Keim

Austin Seibert, in a postgame interview, said the Commanders are “the best work environment you can imagine.”  Wow, did we ever hear that during the Dan Snyder era (1999-2023)?

“We did a great job competing to the end…we communicated much better this week. Everybody was feeding off of each other.”  Mike Sainristil

“That’s what you live for…”  Jayden Daniels on the final game-winning drive.

Benjamin St-Juste, on the forced fumble, said he “lost his contain and knew he had to hustle from behind.” This was a huge turnover.

“We’re still undecided,” and will keep looking to compete.” said head coach Dan Quinn on the secondary.

“Everyone came out and played hard. You know guys competed their a** off.” Brandon Coleman on his first NFL win.

“We got a win; that is all that matters. Doesn’t matter how you do it. Austin Seibert, Way to go, brother. We needed to get a drive. They got that drive, and he (Seibert) knocked it down the middle.”  Brian Mitchell

“Who would have thought that we would be saying we actually won a game without scoring a touchdown. It’s great to see everybody come together and go out there. We got a good win.”  Santana Moss

 

Commanders defeat Giants 21-18 despite red-zone woes

The Commanders win despite not scoring a touchdown.

The Washington Commanders picked up their first win of the 2024 season Sunday, defeating the New York Giants 21-18 on a last-second field goal.

New kicker Austin Seibert, signed last week, drilled a 30-yard field goal as time expired to give head coach Dan Quinn his first win in the burgundy and gold. Seibert made all seven of his field-goal attempts.

The Commanders win despite living in the red zone but never scoring a touchdown. Penalties were an issue for Washington. The Commanders were called for five false starts in the red zone, forcing them to kick field goals.

It began on the first possession of the game. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels led the Commanders inside the five-yard line when fellow rookie, tight end Ben Sinnott was called for a false start on fourth-and-1, leading Quinn to take the three points.

It would be a trend that continued throughout the day.

While Washington’s new kicker scored all 21 points, New York didn’t have a kicker. Graham Gano would injure his hamstring on the game’s first play, chasing Commanders running back Austin Ekeler on the opening kick return. Gano’s absence cost the Giants, who would be forced to go for two-point conversions and could not kick a field goal on their final drive.

The Giants were driving late when quarterback Daniel Jones found rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers open on the sideline. Nabers dropped the ball on fourth-and-4, giving the ball back to the Commanders.

Daniels proceeded to drive Washington down the field, thanks in part to a big completion to wide receiver Noah Brown, putting the Commanders in position for the game-winning field goal.

Daniels completed 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards. He also rushed for 44 yards on 10 attempts. Washington running back Brian Robinson Jr. was the star of the day for the Commanders, though, rushing for 133 yards on 17 attempts.

Nabers was excellent for the Giants outside of the one play, catching 10 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown.

Washington committed 10 penalties for 69 yards, but many were costly red-zone errors.

The Commanders go back on the road in Week 3 with a trip to Cincinnati for Monday Night Football.

Commanders plan to sign veteran kicker Austin Seibert

Washington adds a veteran kicker on Monday.

The Washington Commanders’ merry-go-round at kicker continued Monday when they released Cade York after one game. York missed two field goal attempts and had one kickoff go out of bounds in Washington’s season-opening loss at Tampa Bay.

The Commanders acquired York from the Cleveland Browns last month for a conditional seventh-round pick. The condition was that he must play in two games for Washington. He didn’t, so the pick will not go to the Browns.

Shortly after releasing York, Ben Standig of The Athletic reported the Commanders planned to sign Austin Seibert.

The 27-year-old Seibert was a fifth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 2019 NFL draft. He was released early in his second season with the Browns after missing a field goal and an extra point. The Bengals claimed him off waivers, and he kicked in four games in 2020.

The Bengals cut Seibert during final cuts in 2021, and the Detroit Lions claimed him. He remained with the Lions until Oct. 2022, when he was again waived. In 2023, he spent time on the practice squads of the Saints and Jets. The Jets re-signed Seibert to their practice squad after New Orleans released him last December.

He spent the offseason with the Jets and was released during final cuts last month.

For his NFL career, Seibert has appeared in 31 games, made 56 of his 62 point-after attempts, and is 45 of 56 (80%) on field goal attempts. His career-long is from 53 yards.

Since releasing Brandon McManus in June, Washington has signed or traded for Ramiz Ahmed, Riley Patterson, York, and Seibert.

An interesting note about Seibert: Like York, he was also a Cleveland Browns’ mid-round draft pick, with York essentially replacing him almost two years after he was waived.

Saints release backup kicker Austin Seibert, giving Blake Grupe the green light

Saints release backup kicker Austin Seibert, giving Blake Grupe the green light to continue kicking in black and gold:

Here’s a good sign for Blake Grupe moving forward. The New Orleans Saints released backup kicker Austin Seibert from the practice squad this week, giving Grupe the green light to continue kicking in black and gold.

Seibert was signed after a group tryout last week in the wake of Grupe’s groin injury. He’s been limited in practice but made all of his kicks (four extra point attempts and five kickoffs, two of which were touchbacks) last Sunday against the Detroit Lions. He’ll be up again for this week’s game with the Carolina Panthers.

Hopefully Grupe’s injury issues are behind him. The rookie has had an up-and-down NFL debut — he’s connected on 24 of 30 field goal tries for a success rate of 80%, which ranks 23rd among 34 qualifying kickers. On the upside, he’s hit all 23 point-after attempts. Grupe is one of 10 kickers who have scored 100% of their extra points this season. And 53 of his 62 kickoffs have been touchbacks (85.5%, which ranks 9th-best).

He just needs to be show more consistency on field goals. Some of Grupe’s misses have been due to a poor setup by his holder, rookie punter Lou Hedley, but he’s missed from a variety of distances. If he can bounce back from this injury and nail that down, the Saints decision-makers who have stuck by him — Dennis Allen and Mickey Loomis — will be feeling vindicated.

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Blake Grupe will kick for the Saints in Week 13 vs. Lions

Blake Grupe will kick for the Saints in Week 13 against the Lions. The rookie kicker has been dealing with a groin muscle injury, but he’s active:

Blake Grupe will kick for the New Orleans Saints in Week 13 against the  Detroit Lions. The rookie kicker has been dealing with a groin muscle injury, but he’s active — despite the team having signed a backup for him in veteran kicker Austin Seiebert earlier this week.

So he’ll have an opportunity to prove the job is his and his alone. Grupe has experienced some ups and downs this season but he scored all 15 points the Saints put on the board a week ago with five field goals in Atlanta. Saints head coach Dennis Allen has practiced a lot of patience with him, and the team clearly believes Grupe gives them the beset chance to win on Sunday.

We’ll see how he responds. Grupe has connected on 80% of his field goal tries this season, which ranks 24th around the league. But his 30 field goal attempts in his first 11 games are the third-most you’ll see in the NFL this season. Here’s hoping he comes through when the Saints call him up.

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Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi expects Blake Grupe to play vs. Lions

Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi expects Blake Grupe to kick against the Lions, but the team signed a backup just in case he’s needed:

The New Orleans Saints typically make their coordinators available for media on Thursdays each week, which gave special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi an opportunity to address the recent signing of free agent kicker Austin Seibert.

It was previously reported that Seibert was signed as a backup plan should Blake Grupe’s recent groin muscle injury sideline him, but Rizzi doesn’t anticipate an absence for the rookie in Sunday’s game with the Detroit Lions.

“Yeah, I’m not going to make any great predictions, I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t (play),” Rizzi said Thursday. “We’ll see as the week goes on. He’s got some more kicking he’s got to do this week. But Austin went today and he’s capable if we need him.”

Rizzi echoed the previous sentiment surrounding Seibert’s arrival, characterizing the pickup as an insurance policy: “The workout this week had nothing to do with a performance thing, it was more an insurance policy for us. We get a guy like Austin who’s an experienced player, a guy that’s kicked in the league for a few years. Actually has a game under his belt this year.”

Grupe was responsible for all 15 points the Saints scored against the Atlanta Falcons last week (while playing through an injury), so the team isn’t in a rush to replace him. He’s been limited on the injury report for each of the first two practices going into the Lions game so we’ll have to wait for a game status update on Friday. But it sounds like the Saints expect him to be active and busy come Sunday.

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