Tag: Matthew Wright

XFL castoff Matthew Wright hits 54-, 53-yard field goals as Jaguars snap losing streak

Matthew Wright’s field goals help the Jaguars end their losing streak at 20

Matthew Wright wasn’t officially on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ active roster until a day before their game with the Miami Dolphins Sunday in London.

Activated and signed to the roster from the practice squad, Wright proved to be a brilliant decision.

He kicked a 54-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 20 and followed with a 53-yarder as time expired to give the Jaguars a 23-20 victory that snapped their 20-game losing streak.

The trio of field goals by Wright were Jacksonville’s first this season.

Oh, it was also Urban Meyers’ first NFL win.

Jaguarswire on Wright:

He took the field with them in Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals and hit all three of his extra-point attempts (the Jags didn’t have any field goal attempts, though). However, he struggled last week, missing his only field-goal attempt and was 1-of-2 on extra-point attempts.

The 54-yard with incredible touch as he draws it inside the goalposts.

The game-winner:

The Jaguars are 1-5 as are the Miami Dolphins. The difference is the Dolphins were expected to contend for a playoff spot.

So, who is Matthew Wright?

Wright was signed by the Steelers after a college career at UCF. He did not make the team.

He then tried out for the XFL Tampa Bay Vipers and failed to make that roster.

He did kick in a few games for the Steelers last season.

They let his practice squad contract expire and the Lions signed Wright but he failed to stick with them.

On Sept, 27, Wright was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad. Je was signed to the active roster on Oct. 16.

Wright got his first start on October 10, against the Tennessee Titans. He went 0/1, missing a 53-yard field goal and 1/2 on extra points.

 

Jags sign kicker Matthew Wright from practice squad, makes 2 other moves before game vs. Dauphins

The Jags made three roster moves Saturday before Week 6’s game, including signing kicker Matt Wright.

As expected, the Jacksonville Jaguars made a few roster moves Saturday before their international game against the Miami Dolphins. One was the signing of kicker Matthew Wright, who has been active off the practice squad the last two weeks over veteran Josh Lambo.

The team also brought in some help for the offense from their practice squad.  Specifically, they added a veteran to the receiving corps in Laquon Treadwell and fourth-year lineman KC McDermott.

Wright’s signing means he has a chance to be the Jags’ kicker for the third-straight week. He took the field with them Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals and hit all three of his extra-point attempts (the Jags didn’t have any field goal attempts, though). However, he struggled last week, missing his only field-goal attempt and was 1-of-2 on extra-point attempts. That said, if he plays against Miami, it would appear he needs a better performance than last week’s to stick around.

McDermott, on the other hand, has participated in seven games with the Jags but hasn’t started in a game since going undrafted to the team in 2018. However, the elevation of an offensive lineman to the active roster was expected because the unit only had seven active offensive linemen with Brandon Linder going to injured reserve.

Treadwell will be active for just his second regular season game with the Jags. He was activated for Week 2’s game against Denver and saw nine offensive snaps in the process. As for his career stats, he’ll enter Sunday’s game with 71 receptions for 750 yards and seven touchdowns.

Jaguars elevate kicker Matthew Wright from practice squad before game vs. Titans

Kicker Matthew Wright was activated off practice squad for the second consecutive week by the Jags.

On Friday, Urban Meyer told the media that he would hold off for another day on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ kicking competition — and now the decision appears to have been made. The team has elevated Matthew Wright from their practice squad, which points to him being active Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

With Wright being activated, it’s a sign that veteran kicker Josh Lambo will be inactive Sunday. If that’s the case, it would be the second consecutive game where the Jags have gone with Wright over Lambo.

 

Last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, Wright didn’t get the opportunity to kick a field goal but was 3-of-3 on extra-point attempts. However, he entered the game, which was his first with the Jags, 4-of-4 on field-goal attempts. All four of those attempts came last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Jags’ pending decision at kicker comes as Lambo has had a rough season. He’s currently 0-of-3 on field-goal attempts and 5-of-7 on extra-point attempts, and that resulted in the Jags holding out back Week 4 for confidence/performance issues.

Urban Meyer says Josh Lambo is “in a better place” but kicker competition continues

Meyer said Lambo is doing better after struggling mightily in the first three games. Still, the competition with Matthew Wright continued this week.

Jacksonville is 0-4, and while it has several problems that are holding it back right now, one of the biggest ones is finding someone capable of routinely kicking the ball through the goalposts.

Starting kicker Josh Lambo, who is the best placekicker the Jags have had since longtime franchise centerpiece Josh Scobee held the position, has had a rough start to the season. Lambo is 0-for-3 on field-goal tries this year, and he’s missed two of his seven point-after attempts.

He missed a large portion of last season with several hip injuries, and he hasn’t looked the same since returning to the field. He missed Thursday night’s game for “personal reasons,” and the team elevated kicker Matthew Wright from the practice squad to start the game. He didn’t attempt a field goal, but he was perfect on his three extra points.

While coach Urban Meyer said earlier this week that Lambo is in a better place mentally, he did confirm that the kicker competition is ongoing.

“He’s—him and Matt (Matthew Wright) are going to—there’s going to be a little competition to see who kicks,” he said. “But Josh (is in) a much better place right now.”

Lambo has been with the team since 2017 after he spent his first two seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers. He was named a Second-Team All-Pro in 2019.

Meyer said that he respects Lambo and hopes that he will remain with the team moving forward, regardless of the outcoming of the competition.

“I hope not,” he said when asked if Lambo would be gone if he loses the competition. “I like Josh Lambo, I like his commitment to being a great player. He’s in a slump right now, but there’s also the reality. The reality is you’ve got to put it through the uprights. We are all pulling for him—I can tell you this, the whole team is pulling for him. He’s a great guy that works his you-know-what off.”

Those are certainly strong words of support from the head coach, but ultimately, Lambo will need to find a way to get back to his previous high-level kicking. Regardless of what Meyer says, using two roster spots on kickers isn’t a good tactical move, and whoever isn’t starting on Sunday will likely be heading to the practice squad, at least.

Jags officially elevate PK Matthew Wright from practice squad, activate WR Tavon Austin

The Jags have made a pair of moves heading into TNF by activating Tavon Austin from the reserve/injured-designated for return list and Matthew Wright from their practice squad.

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced two roster moves heading into Thursday Night Football. Those moves were the elevation of practice squad kicker Matthew Wright and the elevation of receiver Tavon Austin from the team’s reserve/designated to return list.

The decision to elevate Wright was expected after Josh Lambo was ruled OUT on the final injury report Wednesday for a personal matter. The Jags signed Wright to the practice squad on Monday after Lambo had been struggling the first three weeks and was unable to connect on any of his three field-goal attempts. Lambo also missed two extra-point attempts in the Jags’ last game against Arizona.

Wright will come into Thursday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals with just three games of NFL regular season experience to his name. Those three games came late last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he was able to go 4-of-4 in terms of field goals and he was 7-of-7 in extra-point attempts. Of course, he was able to register his career-long of 46 in the process.

Austin joined the Jags on Aug. 6 and was solid for the team in the preseason, accumulating eight catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. However, he sustained a quadriceps injury that eventually sent him to injured reserve in early September after the Jags had named him to the final roster.

Austin will bring nine years of experience to the roster and gives Trevor Lawrence some more speed and versatility to the offense. He will enter the season with a total of 220 catches for 2,026 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. As a punt returner, he’s been able to garner 1,480 yards (on 188 returns) for three touchdowns and 451 yards on kickoffs (through 25 returns).

Jags add kicker Matthew Wright to practice squad

With Josh Lambo struggling as of late, the Jags have decided to bring in some competition at kicker.

With the struggles of kicker Josh Lambo bleeding into Week 3, the Jacksonville Jaguars finally added some competition for the veteran. On Monday, they signed third-year kicker Matthew Wright to their practice squad, who once was a collegiate player just south of Jacksonville at Central Florida.

Wright, 25, entered the league in 2019 as an undrafted rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers but was waived during final cuts. After playing for the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers the following year, he got a second chance with the Steelers in the late part of 2020 (Weeks 13, 16, and 17).

While with Pittsburgh, Wright saw his only time on the field in an NFL regular season, and he took advantage of it by going 4-of-4 on his field-goal attempts and 7-of-7 on extra-point attempts. Wright’s longest kick during that stint was a 34-yarder (against Washington), though, so he has yet to register a field goal that’s 35 yards or longer.

As for Lambo, he didn’t get the opportunity to kick any field goals Sunday against Arizona but did miss 2-of-3 extra-point attempts. That only made fans and the staff more concerned as he was already 0-of-3 on field-goal attempts throughout the first two games.

As a result of another rough day for Lambo, the Jags pretty much had no choice but to bring in competition. When asked about it, Jags coach Urban Meyer said it wasn’t about Lambo’s work ethic, but more about not getting kicks through the field goal post.

“I haven’t seen him yet today,” Meyer said on Monday when asked if he’s spoken to the veteran. “We’re coming in here at 2:30 for a team meeting and I don’t believe I talked to him after the game. But I told you, the one thing I respect about him [is] he’s as hard working if not the hardest working specialist I’ve ever had. But there’s also the reality, you have to make kicks. There’s nothing about attitude, nothing about work ethic, but reality is that ball has to go through the uprights.”

It’s unknown if the Jags will give Lambo another shot during “Thursday Night Football,” but after three weeks of struggles, something will have to change soon.

Lions sign free agent kicker Zane Gonzalez

Lions sign free agent kicker Zane Gonzalez and waive PK Matthew Wright

The Detroit Lions have added some needed competition for Randy Bullock at placekicker. The Lions have signed veteran kicker Zane Gonzalez, per his agent Mike McCartney.

In a corresponding move, the Lions waived kicker Matthew Wright just hours after he badly missed on a field goal in Tuesday’s practice.

Gonzalez spent the last two seasons as the primary kicker for the Arizona Cardinals. He did not have a good 2020 season, converting just 72 percent of his field goal attempts. Gonzalez also kicked for the Cleveland Browns as that team’s seventh-round draft pick in the 2017 NFL draft out of Arizona. He has recently tried out with the Titans.

Bullock, signed as a free agent this offseason, has also had some issues on field goals throughout camp. Gonzalez offers a bigger leg with longer range, though his accuracy has been iffy throughout his career.

Kickers struggle in Ford Field on Lions family day scrimmage

It was not a good day at Ford Field for kickers Randy Bullock and Matthew Wright

Saturday’s training camp practice took the Detroit Lions to Ford Field for the first time in 2021. And while it was a positive experience for most of the Lions and for the fans in attendance on the team’s Family Day, one position group struggled.

The kickers.

Replacing Matt Prater is not going to be easy. Veteran Randy Bullock, signed as a free agent this offseason, remains the odds-on favorite to win the gig, but Bullock did himself no favors with his erratic display in Ford Field. He missed both kicks from 50 yards or beyond and neither appeared particularly close.

Coach Dan Campbell chalked it up to just a bad day for Bullock in his post-practice press conference.

“Bullock has been kicking it well to this point. He had a rough one today,” Campbell said. “Now, let’s see how we correct it. It’s not going to be a knee-jerk reaction from me right now. I mean, it’s way too soon to do that. But certainly, he’d be the first one to tell you he needs to kick better.“

About the only saving grace for Bullock is that his camp competitor, Matthew Wright, also missed both his attempts from distance. Both kickers fared well at the practice facility turf outdoors this week, but range is an issue; Bullock has made just nine of his last 15 attempts beyond 48 yards, dating back to 2017 with the Bengals. Wright has never made a successful kick beyond 50 yards in a game, not even in college.

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Lions training camp notebook: Defense wins over the fans on Day 4

Here are the top five takeaways from Saturday’s practice session, which the defense dominated once again

Fans were back in the stands on a sun-soaked Saturday morning in Allen Park for Day 4 of Detroit Lions training camp. After a warm welcome to the season ticketholders from head coach Dan Campbell, the Detroit defense went out and made a lot of fans happy with their performance in practice.

The defense consistently shined. That’s the positive spin. The negative spin is that the offense has been considerably less successful in each of the last two days, and it’s hard to ignore the anemic success of the passing attack.

There was considerable thought placed upon if the defense is really that good or if the offense is just not playing well thus far. Both of them are rooted in truth, but it’s hard not to see just how easily the defense stymies the passing offense, from the first team through the third string.

Here are the top five takeaways from Saturday’s practice session.

Detroit Lions sign kicker Matthew Wright to a futures contract

The Detroit Lions announced that they have signed kicker Matthew Wright to a futures contract.

The Detroit Lions announced that they have signed kicker Matthew Wright to a futures contract.

“Wright appeared in three games for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020 after being elevated from their practice squad,” the Lions said in a press release. “Wright was a perfect four-for-four on field goals and seven-for-seven on extra point attempts in those contests. He originally entered the NFL with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2019 out of Central Florida.”

Matt Prater is a pending free agent and is coming off his worst field goal conversion rate (75-percent) since his first two seasons in the NFL. At age 37 if fair to speculate his longevity.

That being said, Prater still came through in the clutch multiple times this season. He won NFC Special Teams Player of the Week twice last season (in Week 3 and Week 10), set the NFL record for most career 50+ yards field goals, and won free beer for the city of Detroit after connecting on a 59-yard field goal during the season.

When ranking the Lions potential free agents this offseason, Prater checked in fourth for us at Lions Wire. And when you combine that with his expressed desire to remain in Detroit, it’s clear Wright is being brought in as insurance against a deal not getting done and training camp competition, rather than as a replacement.