Tag: Corey Bojorquez

Johnny Hekker knows he has to earn punting job over Corey Bojorquez

Johnny Hekker says he isn’t locked in as the Rams’ punter and treats every day like a competition with Corey Bojorquez.

Johnny Hekker has been the Rams’ punter for the last nine years, facing almost no competition for the job throughout his tenure with the team. He’s led the league in yards twice and average yards per punt once, never missing a game in his entire career.

As a four-time All-Pro, Hekker has established himself as one of the best punters in football. But the Rams threw some competition his way this offseason by signing Corey Bojorquez as a free agent – a move they excitedly announced on social media.

Bojorquez wasn’t just a camp leg signed to give Hekker a break in practice. The Rams already had Brandon Wright for that. Bojorquez was seemingly a legitimate threat, and Hekker won’t even say otherwise.

He’s treating every day like a battle with Bojorquez, who he considers “insanely talented.” Hekker still sees this as an open competition for the punting job in L.A.

“Yeah, of course. I mean every day is a competition. If you’re not competing during training camp, you’re not in the right headspace and you’re not going to progress and be your best when September rolls around,” Hekker said. “Corey’s a very, very talented punter. He led the NFL in yards per punt last season. He’s been just building on that foundation that he had last season. He’s incredible. He’s pushed me every day to be better. Watching his technique and his leg talent just really makes me want to refine mine and make sure that I’m being the best that I can be because at the end of the day, the reality is teams only carry one. So, I think whichever one of us is going to be punting for the Rams, the other guy’s going to get picked up very shortly thereafter.”

Hekker is a leader and a captain, so he knows the right things to say when posed a question like this. But as he mentioned, Bojorquez led the league in yards per punt last year, so he’s got some real leg talent to push Hekker.

As a follow-up question, Hekker was asked if he’s confident the Rams will keep him over Bojorquez, and in true veteran fashion, he was modest in his response, once again complimenting his competitor.

“I’m confident that tomorrow I’m going to work hard. Just going to enjoy the process. One of my mindsets going into this training camp has just been, be happy for Corey and what he’s doing. He’s insanely talented. But in the same breath, I just have to go out there and focus and run my race and do what I know I can do every day. And, that’s work hard, be a light, have fun and let the rest take care of itself. I think we got great coaches and staff that are totally capable of making that decision and I’m glad I don’t have to make it.”

If the Rams do wind up cutting Hekker, which still seems unlikely, they will save $3.75 million in cap space. Bojorquez’s contract comes with a base salary of $920,000 and a roster bonus of $100,000, putting his cap hit at $1.02 million – not exactly pennies.

That will likely be taken into account, but by no means will it be the deciding factor in this competition.

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Rams say Corey Bojorquez wasn’t signed to compete with Johnny Hekker

Sean McVay and Les Snead clarified that there won’t be a punting competition this summer after the Rams signed Corey Bojorquez.

With limited spending money in free agency, the Los Angeles Rams took a frugal approach this offseason by signing only a few players. One of them was former Bills punter Corey Bojorquez, who was also the most recent addition to the team.

It was a move that surprised some fans and caused them to question whether the Rams are planning to make a change at punter. Bojorquez led the NFL in yards per punt last season and considering the Rams already had a backup punter on the 90-man squad in Brandon Wright, the signing of Bojorquez raised some eyebrows.

But Sean McVay and Les Snead said in their pre-draft press conference that Bojorquez wasn’t signed to compete with Hekker. Snead said it was an opportunity to sign someone that the scouting staff identified as a good player after he put together a strong 2020 season, giving the Rams another specialist as a COVID-19 backup.

“It’s when a player comes available, it’s a chance to add – and I think, obviously Johnny’s resume speaks for itself,” Snead said. “Right now I think we’ve got the most specialists of probably anybody in the league. We have probably seven. Probably got two kickers, two punters and one guy who can kick and punt and two long snappers, but I know we began that a little bit last year, because during COVID if you did have an outbreak and you did lose some players, if you lost a corner, there’s usually three, four or five others that you have an answer for, but with the specialist, if you lose anyone in contact tracing, there’s truly no answers, so it goes under that bucket.”

McVay was then asked to clarify if the addition of Bojorquez is about there being a punting competition. He said, “no, it’s not” before Snead jumped in again and added his two cents.

“Well, I think anytime you go to the practice field it’s a competition, but no,” Snead said.

It’s understandable to bring in a punter as a contingency plan in this COVID-19 era, but it still feels like this move was a way to push Hekker. He has a cap hit of $4.9 million in 2021, which is $1.5 million more than any other punter in the NFL. He’s coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, too, and the Rams just signed a guy who led the league in yards per punt.

And when Snead was first asked about the addition of Bojorquez, he said it’s a move that’s in the “Nickell Robey Bucket.” He named players such as Nickell Robey-Coleman, Ramik Wilson, Austin Blythe, Troy Hill, Darious Williams and Devlin Hodges as guys who fall into that category after they were waived, not re-signed by their previous team or didn’t get tendered as restricted free agents.

All of those players (except Hodges) started for the Rams at one point or another, making the comparison even more interesting.

It’s possible Snead and McVay are telling the truth about this not being a punting competition. But if training camp rolls around and Bojorquez is clearly outperforming Hekker, would the Rams seriously not consider making a switch – especially given Hekker’s contract?

We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

What does the Corey Bojorquez signing mean for Johnny Hekker?

Could the Rams be looking to make a change at punter after Johnny Hekker’s down year in 2020?

Johnny Hekker has been the Rams’ punter since 2012, earning four Pro Bowl selections and being named a four-time All-Pro in that nine-year span. He’s been as steady as any punter in the NFL since coming into the league out of Oregon State, leading all players in punting yards twice, as well as yards per punt once.

He hasn’t had so much as an ounce of competition with the Rams, playing all 16 games each season since 2012. That could change this offseason, though.

The team announced on Tuesday that it has signed former Bills punter Corey Bojorquez. The terms of the contract were not disclosed, but the fact that they signed another punter at all is a bad sign for Hekker.

Hekker has three years left on his contract still, but if the Rams truly are going to make a change at punter, he could be cut and actually save Los Angeles some salary cap space. According to Over The Cap, if Hekker is released after June 1, the Rams will save $3.75 million in cap space, taking on only $1.2 million in dead money.

For a team that has been up against the cap all offseason, that’s a decent savings. Of course, finding a player of Hekker’s caliber to replace him for cheap may prove difficult. Perhaps the Rams hope Bojorquez can be that guy, though we don’t currently know what his contract looks like.

It’s worth pointing out that Hekker didn’t have a great season in 2020, either. He averaged a career-low 45.6 yards per punt and had a long of just 63 yards. He did down 28 of his 68 punts inside the 20-yard line, but five of his punts went for touchbacks – the second straight year he’s had five touchbacks after kicking only seven total touchbacks from 2016-2018.

Bojorquez is far from a top-tier punter. If he were, the Bills would’ve re-signed him, or another team would’ve scooped him up before the Rams. He led the NFL with an average of 50.8 yards per punt, which was tied for fourth-most in a single season in league history.

But he also kicked seven touchbacks, tied for most in the league last season, and only downed 18 of his 41 punts inside the 20. He has a big leg, but distance control is an area where he must improve.

It’s possible the Rams want to have a true punting competition in camp. It’s also possible they could release Hekker before then, even though that feels highly unlikely. Bojorquez, who’s a lefty, could be a way for Los Angeles to give its punt returners a different look in practice as a way to prepare for their opponents in the regular season.

There are a number of different ways this could go, but regardless of what the Rams’ plan is, they wouldn’t be signing another punter (in addition to Hekker and Brandon Wright) at this point in the offseason if they weren’t at least considering a change.

This isn’t a matter of protecting against COVID-19 protocols. That’s why Wright was signed last year. This is the Rams looking for another option at punter under new special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis.

5 things to know about new Rams punter Corey Bojorquez

Corey Bojorquez is from the Los Angeles area and led the NFL in yards per punt last season.

Johnny Hekker could have some competition this summer after the Los Angeles Rams signed former Bills punter Corey Bojorquez on Tuesday. It’s a surprising move by the Rams, considering Hekker’s standing with the team, but perhaps Los Angeles is weighing a change.

Here are five things to know about Bojorquez, who’s now the third punter on the team alongside Hekker and Brandon Wright.

Rams sign former Bills punter Corey Bojorquez

The Rams have signed punter Corey Bojorquez despite already having Johnny Hekker.

Despite already having Johnny Hekker on the roster, the Los Angeles Rams announced on Tuesday that they have signed former Bills punter Corey Bojorquez.

Bojorquez, 24, has spent his entire career with the Bills, playing 40 games for Buffalo since 2018. He punted 41 times last season, averaging an NFL-high 50.8 yards per punt with a long of 72 yards – the longest in the league.

The Bills signed Matt Haack this offseason and allowed Bojorquez to become a free agent, a somewhat surprising move by Buffalo. Bojorquez is from Bellflower, California and signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2018. The Patriots waived him before the season began and Buffalo scooped him up.

In addition to Hekker and Bojorquez, the Rams also have Brandon Wright on the 90-man roster, giving them three punters.

Updated status for every Buffalo Bills 2021 free agent

Updating status for every current Buffalo Bills free agent.

The Buffalo Bills and NFL are now turning their attention to the 2021 NFL Draft. The rookie event always becomes the forefront of everyone’s attention once the calendar turns to April.

Despite the draft being in the crosshairs, free agency continues to roll on. For the Bills, there’s still plenty of players from their 2020 squad that are still free agents, while others have signed contracts with other new teams.

Here’s an updated list of what’s going on with Buffalo’s current free agent class:

Updated list of Bills free agents as tampering period opens

List of Buffalo Bills 2021 free agents as the legal tampering period opens.

The Bills have been movers and shakers prior to free agency even opening, keeping several of their key pieces on the roster.

The team re-signed linebacker Matt Milano, tackle Daryl Williams and guard Jon Feliciano over the course of the past few days.

But that trio is not alone. Buffalo still has several other free agents they could potentially re-sign, but those guys are about to hit the open market. As of noon on Monday, these players can now entertain offers from other teams,

With that legal tampering period in the NFL now open, here’s an updated list of pending free agents for the Bills:

Dolphins sign P Michael Palardy, who had free-agent visit with Bills

Buffalo Bills lose out on P Michael Parlardy in free agency as he signs with Miami Dolphins.

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The Bills still don’t have Corey Bojorquez under contract and earlier this month, the team hosted former Panthers punter Michael Palardy on a free-agent visit. 

Palardy has since gone on to sign with another AFC East team, the Dolphins. According to Panthers Wire, Palardy signed a one-year deal. He visited the Bills on March 5.

Palardy has averaged 45.3 yards per punt in his career and clearly his Carolina connection comes into play here. Before Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane joined the Bills, that’s where they were. Palardy, 28, spent one year in Carolina with McDermott and Beane, having signed with the Panthers in 2016.

Palardy spent the entire 2020 season on the injured reserve list after tearing his ACL playing basketball with his son during the offseason.

For Buffalo, Bojoroquez, a restricted free agent, appears to be the lone man on their radar as of now. He led the NFL in average punting yards (50.8) last season.

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Bills host free agent punter Michael Palardy on visit

Buffalo Bills host P Michael Palardy on a free-agent visit.

The Bills are hosting free agent punter Michael Palardy on a visit on Friday. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the meeting.

Palardy missed the entire 2020 season due to a torn ACL. According to Panthers Wire, the injury apparently happened while he was playing basketball with his son.

In 2020, Buffalo’s punter was Corey Bojorquez. He had a solid season, even a breakout one. He led the NFL in average punting yards (50.8).

However, Bojorquez is a restricted free agent. The Bills can tender him a one-year deal at $2.133 million or try to workout a separate deal with him.

Palardy has averaged 45.3 yards per punt in his career and clearly his Carolina connection comes into play here. Before Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane joined the Bills, that’s where they were. Palardy, 28, spent one season in Carolina with McDermott and Beane, having signed with the Panthers in 2016.

Palardy visiting could be viewed as a bit of a negotiation tactic for the Bills in terms of getting Bojorquez under a contract. However, they often do bring in players for training camp battles, too… so Buffalo could very well sign both.

Palardy, like Bojorquez, is a left-footed kicker. That causes a different spin on the ball and is very much something returners are aware of. McDermott likes to have every advantage he can get.

Palardy was released by the Panthers in February.

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Bills’ 6 most improved players of 2020

Buffalo Bills most improved players from the 2020 NFL season.

The Bills had their best season in a long time in 2020. The reasons for that are pretty obvious.

The offense was the best the team has had in its history. Milestones and records galore followed all the way to the AFC Championship game.

That was the result of new additions into the lineup, most notably wide receiver Stefon Diggs. However, some guys did some heaving hauling of their own and stepped up in a big way from 2019 to 2020.

With that, here are six Bills players that improved the most this season: