Tag: Taylor Bertolet

Mason Crosby among free agent kickers auditioning at Saints group tryout

Longtime Packers specialist Mason Crosby is among the free agent kickers auditioning for the Saints at Tuesday’s group tryout. Is Blake Grupe in peril?

Blake Grupe scored all 15 points the New Orleans Saints put on the board in Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but now they’re looking at possible replacements. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that the Saints hosted several free agent kickers at the team facility Tuesday for a group tryout.

The rookie has struggled throughout the season, connecting on 24 of his 30 field goal tries (80%); Grupe has also missed two kicks in his last three games, and he received treatment for a groin muscle injury late last week. But he hit five of his six field goal tries to at least keep the Saints competitive in their 24-15 loss in Atlanta.

So who are the Saints looking at? Here are the kickers Underhill reported are in town:

Chargers sign Cameron Dicker to practice squad

The Chargers made a move in correspondence to Taylor Bertolet being placed on the practice squad injured list.

Dicker the Kicker is suiting up in powder blue.

The Chargers announced Thursday that Cameron Dicker had been signed to the practice squad. Kicker Taylor Bertolet was placed on the practice squad; injured list in a corresponding move.

Dicker will have an opportunity to kick for LA on Sunday if Dustin Hopkins (hamstring) can’t go. Hopkins did not practice on Wednesday due to the injury after missing the Week 7 contest against the Seahawks.

The Chargers will be Dicker’s fourth team this season after he joined the league as a UDFA this offseason. He started with the Rams, where he went 3-3 on extra points against the Chargers in the preseason before being released in favor of incumbent Matt Gay. Dicker then made a 38-yard field goal and extra points in a preseason game for the Ravens before being released during final cuts. After a month or so of waiting for his next opportunity, the Eagles signed him to fill in for the injured Jake Elliott in Week 5. He went 2-2 on field goals, including a game-winner, and 2-2 on extra points and was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. The Eagles released him from their practice squad on October 29th.

In his four-year career at Texas, Dicker went 60-79 on field goals with a long of 57 and 206-210 on extra points. However, he’s undoubtedly most famous for his game-winning kick against Oklahoma as a freshman in 2018:

If he’s pressed into action, Los Angeles may have to hope Dicker has some of that game-winning magic left in him.

Chargers make roster moves ahead of Week 7 vs. Seahawks

Chargers RB Joshua Kelley was placed on the injured reserve.

The Chargers made some roster moves ahead of their matchup with the Seahawks.

Los Angeles has placed running back Joshua Kelley on the injured reserve. In correspondence, wide receiver Michael Bandy was signed to the active roster.

In addition, kicker Taylor Bertolet was elevated from the practice squad. Bertolet will kick in place of Dustin Hopkins, who is out for two to four weeks with a hamstring injury.

Kelley will have to miss a minimum of four games, making him eligible to return in Week 12 when the Bolts play the Cardinals. Rookie Isaiah Spiller will be active on Sunday for the first time this season.

Bandy has three catches on four targets for 53 yards this season.

Mike Williams, DeAndre Carter, Jason Moore and Bandy are the healthy wide receivers heading to tomorrow. Keenan Allen (hamstring) is questionable and Joshua Palmer (concussion) is out.

Chargers’ reasons for optimism vs. Seahawks in Week 7

Highlighting four reasons why the Los Angeles Chargers should beat the Seattle Seahawks.

The Chargers moved to 4-2 on Monday night with a 19-16 overtime win against the Broncos.

While it may have been ugly, a win is a win, and Los Angeles now has positive momentum, especially in the division, where their victory brought them into a tie for first place with the Chiefs.

On Sunday, that momentum will be tested when the Seahawks come to SoFi Stadium.

Here are four reasons to be optimistic that L.A. hits the bye as a 5-2 football team.

Porous pass defense

Seattle is giving up 245 passing yards per game, 22nd in the league. That number is also helped tremendously by last week’s performance against what looks to be a fundamentally broken Cardinals offense, who the Seahawks held to 171 yards through the air. Rookies Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant are the starters at cornerback for Seattle, who are running a variant of the Vic Fangio defense. That scheme requires a lot of DB talent and a lot of knowledge. Woolen and Bryant have played well this season in stretches, but an elite quarterback like Justin Herbert should be able to exploit their stumbles. If Seattle employs more nickel and dime packages on Sunday, as they did against Arizona, Herbert will be fast enough through his progressions to find an open man against Seattle’s third or fourth corner.

Third down woes

Seattle is also starting two rookies at offensive tackle: top-ten pick Charles Cross and third-rounder Abraham Lucas. Like their teammates at corner, Cross and Lucas have shown flashes, helping Seattle’s offensive line to a sack rate of just 2.2% on 1st down and 1.4% on second down. Both marks are well below the league averages of 5.0% and 5.1%, respectively. However, on third downs, the Seahawks have collapsed. Their sack rate allowed skyrockets to 20.7%, more than twice the league average of 9.8%. Whether that’s because it’s a line full of rookies learning to communicate about blitzes or not is unclear, but we do know Brandon Staley is no stranger to dialing up exotic pressures on third down. Given how well it worked on Monday, I’d expect more of the same from Drue Tranquill and Derwin James on Sunday, with likely the same results.

Special teams trajectories

Pete Carroll said on Monday that Seattle’s special teams are “bugging the heck out of all of us” after another week of miscues against Arizona. Perhaps the most costly was punter Michael Dickson losing control of the ball in the end zone, leading to a fumble recovered for a touchdown by the Cardinals. Seattle has had one mistake of this nature seemingly every game, a contributing factor in their special teams being ranked 23rd by DVOA. Compare that to the Chargers, whose special teams are the number one reason they won the game on Monday. When’s the last time fans of this team could say that? The Chargers are 15th in special teams DVOA, buoyed by the steady presence of Dustin Hopkins (when he’s played) and rookie gunners Ja’Sir Taylor and Deane Leonard, who combined to finish the muffed punt play that put LA in field goal range in overtime against Denver. Hopkins will miss this week, but backup kicker Taylor Bertolet was perfect on six kicks in Week 5 when he filled in for the veteran. All this to say: Los Angeles is getting their special teams unit in sync, while Seattle is still searching for answers.

Failure to capitalize

Seattle has forced ten turnovers in their six games and turned their opponent over on downs four times. That’s a pretty good clip! The Seahawks are tied for 5th in takeaways per game. But when the defense gives their offense the ball back, Seattle has struggled to turn it into points. Of those fourteen occurrences, Seattle has scored on the following drive just three times, four if you count Tariq Woolen’s pick 6. After receiving the ball due to a big play by their defense, Seattle has turned it right back over four times, punted five times, and gone to halftime once if they’re unable to score. LA only turns the ball over 0.8 times per game, the second-best mark in the league. If Seattle can’t capitalize on their likely only shot at a turnover on Sunday, there’s reason to believe the Chargers will be able to right the ship.

Chargers’ Dustin Hopkins named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week

The Chargers’ savior from Monday night has been rewarded.

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The Chargers’ savior from Monday night has been rewarded.

Following a 4-for-4 field goal performance in primetime as he struggled through a hamstring injury, kicker Dustin Hopkins was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Hopkins made all five of his kicks: an extra point, on which he injured the hamstring, and field goals of 37, 31, 35, and 39 yards to lift Los Angeles over Denver, 19-16 in overtime.

It’s bittersweet for Hopkins and the Chargers, as the announcement comes after the team revealed he will miss the next 2-4 weeks with the hamstring injury. In his stead, Taylor Bertolet will likely serve as the new kicker. Bertolet filled in for Hopkins in Week 5 when the veteran was forced to miss the game with a quad injury.

The 30-year-old stayed on the practice squad this week as a precaution that the team now likely views as a lucky break. Bertolet has two possible standard elevations from the practice squad remaining, which should get LA through the next three weeks since their bye is coming up after this week’s game with the Seahawks.

If all goes according to plan, this could prevent them from using an additional active roster spot on Bertolet while Hopkins recovers.

Hopkins is the first Charger to be named an AFC Player of the Week this season after Justin Herbert was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week three times in 2021.

Chargers sign kicker Taylor Bertolet to practice squad

In wake of Dustin Hopkins’ quad injury, the Chargers signed a kicker for insurance.

In wake of Dustin Hopkins’ quad injury that popped up on Wednesday’s injury report, the Chargers signed a kicker for insurance.

Los Angeles signed Taylor Bertolet to the practice squad, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.

In a corresponding move, they released cornerback Michael Jacquet from the practice squad.

If Hopkins can’t play, Bertolet will be promoted to the active roster for this Sunday’s game against the Browns.

Bertolet signed with the Rams as an undrafted agent out of Texas A&M in 2016.

Bertolet had stints with the Broncos, Jets, Panthers and Vikings – most recently spending the month of September on Carolina’s practice squad.

He has yet to appear in an NFL game.

Bertolet also appeared in the Alliance of American Football, Canadian Football League, and United States Football League.

At Texas A&M, Bertolet made 37 of 56 field goal attempts (66.1%) with 128 of 138 extra point attempts (92.8%) throughout three seasons.

Panthers make 3 depth moves on Tuesday

On Tuesday, the Panthers waived LB Isaiah Graham-Mobley and made an adjustment to their practice squad.

Tuesday was another day void of on-field action for the Carolina Panthers. But that didn’t mean the front office wasn’t at it.

In addition to placing wideout Andre Roberts on the injured reserve, some adjustments were made to the team’s depth—starting with the return of tight end Josh Babicz. Babicz, who was initially signed as an undrafted free agent out of North Dakota State University in the spring, rejoins the group after a week away.

And that week away came, not so coincidentally, because of the man he was cut for—kicker Taylor Bertolet. Bertolet, was added to the practice squad this past Friday as insurance for a mildly injured Eddy Piñeiro, was released to make room for Babicz.

Now—with Babicz back in and Bertolet back out—the full-circle swap is complete.

Carolina also waived linebacker Isaiah Graham-Mobley from the injured reserve later in the day. The 24-year-old linebacker departs with an injury settlement off a partially guaranteed contract.

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Panthers sign new kicker to practice squad

With K Eddy Piñeiro dealing with a hip injury, the Panthers added a little insurance at the position on Friday.

You can never have too many legs, especially if you’re the Carolina Panthers.

As first reported by team scribe Darin Gantt on Friday afternoon, the Panthers have signed kicker Taylor Bertolet to their practice squad. This move comes amidst the minor uncertainty surrounding the status of starter Eddy Piñeiro, who has been dealing with a hip issue leading up to Sunday’s season opener against the Cleveland Browns.

Piñeiro has popped up on the injury report for the past two days, just a week after signing on to replace a lost Zane Gonzalez. But head coach Matt Rhule told reporters on Wednesday that he has no major concerns just yet on the fifth-year veteran, who was listed as a full participant for both practices.

“Came in, got treatment on it,” Rhule said of Piñeiro’s hip. “He kicked today, so nothing so far that would make me concerned. Ya know, obviously, any time your kicker reports anything, it makes you a little bit reticent. But nothing that’s a major concern yet.”

Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor agreed with that sentiment on Thursday, stating he has no worries about Piñeiro.

Regardless, the Panthers have insured themselves at the position with Bertolet—a Carolina practice squad member from 2020. Tight end Josh Babicz was released to make room for the addition.

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Panthers work out five kickers on Monday

Eddy Piñeiro and Brian Johnson weren’t the only kickers the Panthers brought in for a look on Monday.

On Saturday, Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said replacing kicker Zane Gonzalez was a “major thing for us.” And judging by the steps they took on Monday, he wasn’t kidding.

In addition to bringing in Brian Johnson and Eddy Piñeiro for a workout earlier today, the Panthers also called in three other legs for a look. That bunch included Chase McLaughlin, Matthew Wright and Taylor Bertolet.

McLaughlin may be the more familiar name to many, as he’s a well-traveled veteran of just three seasons. The 26-year-old has kicked for six different organizations since 2019—including the Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns.

He stuck around for 16 games in Cleveland this past season, converting on 15 of his 21 field goal attempts and 36 of his 37 extra point tries.

Wright has kicked for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jaguars in his two seasons while Bertolet, who hasn’t recorded an official NFL try, spent a number of weeks on the Panthers’ practice squad in 2020.

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Expect Dan Bailey to be the Vikings’ kicker on Sunday

All signs are pointing to Minnesota K Dan Bailey being the Vikings’ kicker on Sunday against the Detroit Lions in Week 17.

On Saturday, the Vikings announced some additions to the active roster and kicker Taylor Bertolet was not on the list.

The only other kicker Minnesota has besides Bertolet on the active roster or practice squad is Dan Bailey at the moment.

That means Minnesota will likely stick with Bailey at kicker. Bailey was listed as questionable on the Vikings’ injury report this week. However, he did tell reporters that he should be able to go this game.

“I had a good workload [Friday], and I felt good doing that,” Bailey said, per Mark Craig of the Star Tribune. “The best I can do is put all that stuff behind me.”

So all signs point to Bailey being the Vikings’ kicker in the season finale. Bailey has struggled with misses this year, especially against the Buccaneers, but maybe he can finish strong.