Tag: Matt Ammendola

The Cardinals’ Justin Pugh passionately stood up for teammate Matt Ammendola after his crucial missed kick

Pugh’s gesture for a teammate was quite classy.

On Sunday, for a little over 59 minutes, the Cardinals hung in against the presumptive current top NFC heavyweight in the Eagles. That is until — after an otherwise solid performance — Kyler Murray appeared to lose track of the downs while trying to set a game-tying field goal near the end of regulation.

When Matt Ammendola, who was already filling in for the injured Matt Prater, would miss a brutal 43-yarder to cap a 20-17 loss, a lot of the postgame criticism turned toward the substitute kicker. Despite the proceedings leading up to the fateful wide right kick, Ammendola drew a solid brunt of the backlash for not even coming close on his game-tying attempt.

His teammate, offensive lineman Justin Pugh, was simply not having any of it. Pugh emphatically made it known to reporters that Ammendola wasn’t solely to blame for the Cardinals’ defeat.

Note: NSFW language in the tweet and video below.

Ah, man, what a teammate. And Pugh’s definitely not wrong! One kicker missing a fateful attempt to tie the game is never the sole reason a football team loses. They just happen to be under the microscope because of all of the immense weight on their one play. The football world would do well to remember this before throwing kickers under the bus again.

Cardinals to sign K Matt Ammendola to practice squad

The Cardinals have a plan for this week in case Matt Prater is not able to play this week.

The Arizona Cardinals brought in four different kickers for a tryout on Monday, as Matt Prater was unable to finish the team’s 26-16 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

They will sign one of the kickers they brought in.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, they will add Matt Ammendola to the practice squad. Ammendola was one of the four kickers in on Monday.

Ammendola filled in for two weeks for the Kansas City Chiefs this season. He made 3-of-4 field goals and 3-of-4 extra points.

He played 11 games for the New York Jets last season, making 13-of-19 field goals and 14-of-15 extra points.

He has not made a field goal in his career from 50 yards or more, and he is only 2-of-5 from 40-49 yards.

As a practice squad addition, it does not mean he will handle kicking duties. If Prater ends up being good to go, he will not occupy a spot on the active roster. But if Prater needs the week off, the Cardinals can use one of their standard elevations from the practice squad to add him to the active roster so he can play.

The Cardinals will release their first injury report of the week on Wednesday.

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Chiefs release K Matt Ammendola from practice squad

The #Chiefs have terminated the practice squad contract of Matt Ammendola after two weeks of filling in for Harrison Butker.

After a disappointing performance in the team’s Week 3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Kansas City Chiefs have terminated the practice squad contract of kicker Matt Ammendola per the NFL’s daily personnel notice.

The team signed Ammendola to the practice squad after a six-kicker tryout that included Colts K Chase McClaughlin. He filled in for Harrison Butker over the past two weeks as the starting kicker deals with a severe ankle sprain.

In his first week against the Los Angeles Chargers, Ammendola was perfect on extra points and field goals. In Week 3 in Indianapolis, he struggled with consistency on both extra points and field goals, missing one each. The inconsistencies led to a fake field goal call on fourth-and-long that wasn’t successful.

Andy Reid suggested that a change might be coming, even though he didn’t have an update on Harrison Butker’s availability for Week 4.

“I can’t tell you that right now,” Reid told reporters on Monday. “Brett (Veach) is mulling through all of that and working through it right now.”

Ammendola will end his tenure in Kansas City appearing in two games, recording 3-of-4 on extra points and 3-of-4 on field goals. He also had 10 kickoffs with six touchbacks.

It’s unclear if the Chiefs plan to bring in more kickers for tryouts or if they expect Butker back in Week 4. There’s also a chance that Justin Reid could play some role in their plans. Regardless, they’ll have someone other than Ammendola in there against the Buccaneers on Sunday night.

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Chiefs elevate two practice squad players for Week 3 vs. Colts

The #Chiefs have officially elevated two players from the practice squad ahead of the team’s Week 3 game against the #Colts.

The Kansas City Chiefs have used a standard elevation on two practice squad players ahead of their Week 3 game against the Indianapolis Colts per the NFL’s daily personnel notice.

With Harrison Butker ruled out for the second consecutive week, the Chiefs will turn to practice squad kicker Matt Ammendola again. He made two short field goals and was 3-of-3 on extra points attempts in Week 2 against the Chargers. Dave Toub seems to feel comfortable with Ammendola this week, especially being that they’re playing in a dome.

“Yeah, we’re indoors, wind’s not a factor,” Toub said on Thursday. “You know, Ammendola’s kicked – like I said in the workout – he kicked a 56-yarder. He kicked a 60-yarder at the stadium that day and yesterday he kicked a 53 in a two-minute situation. He’s got the range; he can do it. We have full confidence in him. Now he’s got a lot more reps with those guys (James Winchester and Tommy Townsend) so he’s feeling a little more comfortable.”

The Chiefs also chose to bring up CB Dicaprio Bootle from the practice squad for the second consecutive week. He played just 11 snaps on special teams in Week 2, but no snaps on the defensive side of the ball.

Here is a reminder of how the NFL’s practice squad elevations work this season:

“Teams can promote up to two players per week from the practice squad to the active roster via standard elevation (bringing the 53-man roster to 55 players). These players can be elevated three times during the course of the season, reverting to the practice squad the following week. They are not subject to waivers when they revert back to the practice squad. NFL teams must decide to elevate players by 3:00 p.m. CT the day before a game is played.”

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Dave Toub provides update on Chiefs K Harrison Butker’s ankle injury

It sounds like it will likely be Matt Ammendola for another week as #Chiefs K Harrison Butker continues to nurse an ankle sprain.

For the second consecutive day of practice, the Kansas City Chiefs will be without starting K Harrison Butker due to an ankle injury.

Speaking to reporters ahead of practice on Thursday, Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub provided an update on Butker’s ankle injury and recovery.

“(Harrison) Butker is working his butt off,” Toub explained. “He is in there and he’s attacking (rehab) just like he attacks practice and everything else. That’s his personality. He’s doing everything he can to get back. Rick (Burkholder) and his staff are doing a good job of getting the swelling out. The swelling was really bad in his ankle, it went all the way up and the blood went all the way down to his toes. It was pretty ugly. So, they’re getting the swelling out of his foot. He just needs time to get that thing healed up.”

While Butker is clearly getting after it in the rehab process, even working on some kicks with Rick Burkholder and the training staff, the team is taking the cautious approach here. They want him as close to 100% as possible before he returns and that means getting all of the swelling out of his plant foot.

“It’s killing Butker,” Toub said. “He doesn’t like to miss anything. He certainly doesn’t want to see somebody else doing his job. He’s going to get back as soon as he can.”

While there is a slim possibility that Butker could get out there this week, it sounds as if it’s trending toward Matt Ammendola being the Chiefs’ kicker for another week. He made all of his kicks in Week 2 against the Chargers out at Arrowhead Stadium and he continues to build chemistry with his new teammates in practice.

“Matt (Ammendola) is here, he’s going through practice,” Toub said. “If (Harrison) Butker can’t go.

Should he play in Week 3, Ammendola will get the luxury of playing inside at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. In a short time, he’s developed quite a bit of trust with Toub, who says Ammendola has made kicks of 53, 56 and 60 yards in either practice or his tryout with the team.

“He’s got the range, he can do it,” Toub said of Ammendola. “We’ve got full confidence in him. He’s got a lot more reps with (Tommy Townsend and James Winchester), so he’s feeling more comfortable.”

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Chiefs should be comfortable playing Matt Ammendola again if Harrison Butker needs more time

If Harrison Butker is still dealing with swelling in his injured ankle, the #Chiefs should have no concerns relying on Matt Ammendola in Week 3.

If the Kansas City Chiefs need to stick with their backup kicker in Week 3, they should feel comfortable doing so.

Harrison Butker sat out with an ankle injury in the Week 2 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on “Thursday Night Football.” The veteran was replaced by third-year NFL kicker Matt Ammendola, who was signed to the practice squad just last week. Ammendola was elevated to the 53-man roster from the practice squad ahead of the game and played 11 snaps on special teams.

While Ammendola needed assistance finding the Chiefs’ locker room ahead of the game, he needed no assistance finding his way on the scoreboard. He made a 19-yard field goal to tie the game at 17 in the third quarter. He then made a 31-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to give Kansas City a 10-point lead, which helped the team maintain a three-point lead in the game. Additionally, Ammendola was a perfect 3-for-3 on extra points.

He wasn’t half bad in the kickoff game either, which is something he struggled with last season with the Jets. Ammendola had six kickoffs for over 300 yards in total distance. Four of them were touchbacks and two of them were returned for 42 total yards by Chargers WR DeAndre Carter.

This was about as flawless of a kicking performance as you could have as a backup kicker. While his distance certainly wasn’t tested, the Chiefs should feel comfortable and confident if they need to use Ammendola again in Week 3. The goal should be getting Butker as close to 100% as possible before they get him back out on the field again. It’s a little easier to do that when you can sign someone like Ammendola to come in and kick in a pinch.

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Chiefs to sign former Jets K Matt Ammendola to practice squad

The #Chiefs are signing a kicker to the practice squad who appeared in 11 games last season.

The Kansas City Chiefs are making a move to add a kicker to the practice squad in the wake of Harrison Butker’s ankle injury. Butker suffered the ankle injury on a kickoff in Week 1 against the Cardinals and was replaced in the game by S Justin Reid. Butker eventually returned to the game, but was clearly limited by the heavily taped ankle on his plant foot.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Chiefs are signing former New York Jets kicker Matt Ammendola to the practice squad. Ammendola will be insurance if Harrison Butker is unable to kick against the Los Angeles Chargers on “Thursday Night Football” this week.

Ammendola beat out five other kickers including Elliott Fry, who filled in for Butker last season, and former Chargers kicker Tristan Vizcaino.

Ammendola appeared in 11 games with the Jets last season. In those 11 games, he went 13-of-19 on field goals and 14-of-15 on extra points. He also had 27 touchbacks on 47 kickoffs.

The Chiefs will need to make a move in order to make room for Ammendola on the practice squad. They have an open spot on the 53-man roster, but they could also look to release QB Chris Oladokun, who was the scout team quarterback for Kyler Murray last week.

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Texans waive kicker Matt Ammendola

The Houston Texans waived Matt Ammendola, who helped them have a kicker to get through the preseason finale with the San Francisco 49ers.

One sign that may indicate Ka’imi Fairbairn will be ready to go against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 11 is the other kicker is gone.

The Houston Texans waived Matt Ammendola on Saturday. The former New York Jets kicker was on the 80-man roster as the Texans needed a specialist to get through the preseason finale against the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 25 at NRG Stadium.

Ammendola went 2-2 on extra points for Houston in the 17-0 win, but went 1-2 on field goals. Ammendola hit a 45-yarder with 2:02 to go in the third quarter, but missed wide left on a 31-yarder with 12:59 to go in the game.

Fairbairn missed the contest with what has been deemed a short-term injury.

Texans sign K Matt Ammendola

The Houston Texans have signed former New York Jets kicker Matt Ammendola.

The foregone conclusion is now official.

The Houston Texans have signed former New York Jets kicker Matt Ammendola to their active roster ahead of Thursday night’s preseason finale with the San Francisco 49ers at NRG Stadium.

Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn is dealing with a short-term injury and will not available. It will be the second straight preseason finale that Fairbairn has missed.

Ammendola tried out with the Texans earlier in the week. The 5-9, 195-pound kicker played 10 games for the Jets last season, connecting on 13-of-19 field goals and 14-of-15 extra points.

Last preseason, the Texans had to go with safety Justin Reid to handle kickoffs and extra points when Fairbairn was a scratch due to an injury in pregame warmups against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Report: Texans K Ka’imi Fairbairn expected to miss 49ers game

Houston Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn is expected to miss the preseason finale against the San Francisco 49ers.

The Houston Texans will be without Ka’imi Fairbairn when they take on the San Francisco 49ers in the preseason finale at NRG Stadium Aug. 25.

According to Aaron Wilson from the Pro Football Network, the Texans’ kicker is dealing with a short-term injury. As a result, the Texans are working out former New York Jets kicker Matt Ammendola.

Ammendola played 11 games for the Jets last season, making 13-of-19 field goals and 14-of-15 extra points.

Last preseason, Fairbairn similarly sustained an injury in warmups against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the preseason finale. Safety Justin Reid handled kicking duties for the Texans, who later signed Joey Slye to fill in for Fairbairn as he recovered from his groin injury.