Tag: Zane Gonzalez

49ers injuries: 4 placed on season-ending IR at final cuts

The #49ers placed 4 players on season-ending IR at their final roster cuts:

The 49ers on Tuesday placed four players on injured reserve as part of their maneuvers to get their roster cut down.

Kicker Zane Gonzalez, safety Tayler Hawkins, tight end Cameron Latu and cornerback AJ Parker were all sent to IR as part of the final cuts, which means their seasons are over with the 49ers. Players placed on IR after being named to the 53-man roster are eligible to return.

All four players who went on IR were banged up during the preseason finale vs. the Chargers.

Gonzalez is dealing with a calf injury he suffered during pregame warmups. Hawkins broke his hand and needs surgery per head coach Kyle Shanahan. Latu will also likely need surgery on a meniscus injury, and Parker is dealing with a hamstring strain he sustained while covering a punt.

That group will have a couple options.

They can stay on IR all year and rehab with the 49ers, or they can reach an injury settlement where they’re released from IR and become unrestricted free agents. Players released with injury settlements can’t re-sign with San Francisco until they length of their agreed-upon injury settlement has elapsed, plus an additional three weeks.

Another injury-related move was with cornerback Darrell Luter Jr., who was moved to the reserve/PUP list and will be required to miss at least the first four weeks. He’s working through a knee injury he sustained on the last day of OTAs.

There could be some additional injured list-related moves for the 49ers, but now that they’ve announced a 53-man roster those players will be eligible to return in 2023.

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Panthers trade K Zane Gonzalez to 49ers for pick swap

Believed to be released after the Panthers’ decision to keep Eddy Piñeiro, Zane Gonzalez has now been traded to the 49ers for a pick swap in 2025.

So, uh, maybe the Carolina Panthers didn’t release Zane Gonzalez after all.

As first tweeted out by his agent Mike McCartney on Friday evening, the 27-year-old kicker has been traded to the San Francisco 49ers. The teams will swap conditional late-round draft picks in 2025 as compensation for the move.

Gonzalez’s departure was initially reported as a clean cut last night, following the new two-year deal for the Panthers’ new place kicker in Eddy Piñeiro. Nonetheless, this’ll mark the end of a two-year run in Carolina for the former seventh-round pick.

An addition prior to Week 2 of the 2021 regular season, Gonzalez went on to have a standout campaign in the black and blue. He converted on 20 of his 22 field goal attempts and 22 of his 23 extra point tries.

He would, however, succumb to a season-ending quad injury during warmups of the team’s Week 15 visit to Buffalo. The bug then bit again during the 2022 preseason, when he sustained a groin injury while practicing kicks on the sideline—ultimately leading to Piñeiro’s seizing of the job.

Gonzalez will now head out to the west coast to join former teammates Christian McCaffrey, Sam Darnold and Myles Hartsfield as well as former coach Steve Wilks.

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49ers trade for veteran kicker Zane Gonzalez

The 49ers have traded for kicker Zane Gonzalez.

The 49ers finally have a kicker. San Francisco is sending a conditional late-round pick to the Panthers in the 2025 draft to acquire kicker Zane Gonzalez per NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero. Pelissero Gonzalez’s agent Mike McCartney originally announced the trade.

Gonzalez, 27, was a seventh-round pick of the Browns in the 2017 draft. He spent parts of two seasons in Cleveland before joining the Cardinals during the 2018 campaign. He was in Arizona until 2021 when he landed with the Panthers.

Gonzalez injured his groin during warm ups before a preseason game last year and wound up missing the entire season. Now he’s healthy and on track to be ready for the start of this year.

This effectively ends any chance of a reunion with Robbie Gould, who before free agency began expressed a desire to play elsewhere in 2023. It doesn’t, however, preclude the 49ers from using one of their 11 draft picks on a kicker and holding a competition at the position to ensure Gonzalez doesn’t suffer lingering effects of missing a year due to an injury.

In five seasons Gonzalez has played in 63 games. For his career he’s connected on 80.5 percent of his kicks and 94.8 percent of his extra points. In 2021 he knocked through a career-best 90.9 percent of his field goals for Carolina.

There’s a small oddity in Gonzalez’s career stat line. He’s 28-28 from 20-29 yards and 23-26 from 30-39 yards. From 50-plus yards he’s a respectable 11-18.

That 40-49 yard window has been brutal for him though.  He’s 29-41 in his career, although he did hit all 10 of his tries from that distance in 2021.

Gonzalez has also regularly handled kickoffs during his career, which was a duty Gould held with the 49ers. Gonzalez’s career touchback rate is 57.8 percent, but he put up a career-high 63.6 percent in the 2021 season.

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Top available free agent kickers the Bucs could pursue

If the Bucs don’t draft or sign a rookie kicker, these are some names the team could look out for in free agency:

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ brief era of consistency at the kicker position is over.

The team released kicker Ryan Succop on Thursday, marking the end of his three-year tenure in Tampa Bay. He was a crucial part of the team’s 2020 Super Bowl run, but a massive drop in accuracy from deep in 2022 and a large cap number is likely why the team is moving on.

Naturally, the Bucs can grab a rookie kicker in the draft or sign one after it — Jason Licht has somewhat of a penchant for it — but there are also a few notable kickers who are currently free agents. Here are just a few the Bucs could look at for the 2023 season:

Panthers re-sign Eddy Piñeiro to 2-year deal, release Zane Gonzalez

The Panthers have chosen their kicker, re-signing Eddy Pinèiro to a two-year deal and releasing Zane Gonzalez.

The Carolina Panthers have chosen their kicker.

As first reported by ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, the team has re-signed Eddy Piñeiro to a two-year deal. Then, just moments later, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported that the team informed fellow place kicker Zane Gonzalez of his release.

Following another summer of uncertainty at the position, one in which Gonzalez sustained a season-ending groin injury warming up during exhibition play, the Panthers signed Piñeiro right before Week 1—on Aug. 31, 2022.

The 27-year-old proceeded to have a career campaign—booting through 33 of his 35 field goal attempts and 30 of his 32 extra point tries. Piñeiro’s 94.3-percent conversion rate ranked second in the NFL this past season amongst all qualifiers.

Gonzalez, who would’ve been entering the second season of his own two-year extension, will now hit the open market. According to Rapoport, Gonzalez has healed from the setback—which occurred on the sideline during the preseason tilt against the Buffalo Bills.

Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, who has a prior history with Piñeiro, was presumably a key factor in the decision.

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Report: Panthers to keep K Zane Gonzalez for 2023 season

According to FOX Charlotte’s Will Kunkel, the Panthers have decided to keep K Zane Gonzalez for the 2023 season.

After a stellar campaign from kicker Eddy Piñeiro, the Carolina Panthers have essentially been forced to pick between two legs—his and Zane Gonzalez’s. And according to Will Kunkel of FOX Charlotte, they may have made their choice.

Kunkel tweeted on Monday that Carolina will keep Gonzalez and possibly allow Piñeiro, who is expected to have a decent market in free agency, to sign elsewhere.

Gonzalez was signed off the Detroit Lions practice squad back on Sept. 14, 2021. He’d proceed to have a solid first campaign in Carolina, pushing through 20 of his 22 field goal attempts and 22 of his 23 extra point tries before succumbing to a season-ending quad injury during warmups in Week 15.

Lightning would, unfortunately, strike twice for Gonzalez—who was fresh off signing a two-year extension last offseason. While practicing on the sideline during the team’s 2022 exhibition against the Buffalo Bills, the 27-year-old sustained a season-ending groin injury.

That setback gave way to Carolina’s signing of Piñeiro—who netted 33 of 35 field goals and 30 of 32 extra points this past season.

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Panthers bringing in K Eddy Piñeiro for workout on Monday

In addition to Brian Johnson, the Panthers will also be working out Eddy Piñeiro on Monday for their suddenly open kicking duties.

We’re not sure if they can top last year’s extravaganza, but let the 2022 Carolina Panthers kicking competition begin!

According to Joseph Person of The Athletic, the team will be bringing in Eddy Piñeiro for a workout on Monday. The 26-year-old is set to join Brian Johnson, who Person also reported on yesterday afternoon, in vying for the Panthers’ now open place kicking duties.

Those, of course, are open as a result of Friday night’s incident involving Zane Gonzalez—who slipped on the sideline while warming up during the third quarter of the preseason finale. On Saturday, head coach Matt Rhule told reporters that Gonzalez, who signed a two-year extension this offseason after a feel-good 2021 campaign, sustained a “significant long-term” injury.

Piñeiro, like Johnson, has ties to new Panthers special teams coordinator Chris Tabor. The University of Florida product joined Tabor’s Bears for the 2019 and 2020 seasons and, most recently, kicked for the New York Jets in 2021.

He has converted on 31 of his 36 career field goal attempts and 36 of his 39 extra point tries.

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Panthers K Zane Gonzalez sustained ‘significant long-term injury’

Panthers HC Matt Rhule said K Zane Gonzalez sustained a “significant long-term injury” during last night’s preseason finale.

The Carolina Panthers probably didn’t have much fun trying to track down a kicker to start the 2021 season. Remember that sick carousel?

Well, unfortunately, they might have to hop back on again.

In the middle of Friday night’s preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills, Zane Gonzalez was carted off into locker room after slipping on the sideline while taking practice attempts. Today, head coach Matt Rhule said his kicker has sustained a “significant long-term injury” (to presumably his groin) and will likely be out for an extended period of time.

Now, the Panthers will have to sift through the open market—and whoever is added to it—in the coming days to find Gonzalez’s replacement.

“Coach [Chris Tabor] is working on it,” Rhule said when asked if they’ve already looked into different options. “There’s some guys out there that are accomplished kickers. There’s five or six teams where we have to wait and see their rosters and there’s some guys that are out there. Everything from probably working guys out to looking at who’s out there, we’re gonna have to attack it. Because, obviously, this is a major thing for us.”

Gonzalez is fresh off signing a two-year extension this offseason. He provided some much needed stability to what was a much too fluid situation last season, converting on 20 of his 22 field goal attempts and 22 of his 23 extra points tries.

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Panthers K Zane Gonzalez injured while warming up on sideline

Panthers K Zane Gonzalez was carted off from the sideline in third quarter of Friday night’s preseason finale.

Zane Gonzalez saw his 2021 season shortened when the Carolina Panthers traveled to Orchard Park, N.Y. for a Week 15 matchup with the Buffalo Bills. The veteran kicker sustained a quad injury during warmups, leading to a frantic, impromptu series of tryouts to replace him.

Unfortunately, we may have a very similar situation on our hands.

While taking practice kicks on the sideline during the third quarter of Friday night’s preseason finale against, yes, the Bills—Gonzalez went down to the turf. He then immediately grabbed at his groin/right thigh area and would subsequently be carted away into the locker room.

This is, obviously, not an ideal development—for Gonzalez or the Panthers. With exhibition play concluding tonight, the search for a replacement—if needed—will likely be a tough one.

As far as his immediate replacement, punter Johnny Hekker took up for his fellow specialist—nailing an extra point attempt following a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Sam Darnold. Gonzalez’s return, as announced later in the quarter, is deemed as questionable.

Carolina, in addition, ruled out defensive tackle Derrick Brown with an oblique injury and tight end Giovanni Ricci with a groin injury of his own.

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Panthers waive K Lirim Hajrullahu

On Wednesday, the Panthers waived K Lirim Hajrullahu.

There shall be no kicker carousel for the Carolina Panthers in 2022 . . . or at least they won’t intend on having one.

In case the two-year extension for Zane Gonzalez wasn’t a hint enough already, the Panthers have eyes for just one place kicker as we head into the upcoming campaign. That was further solidified on Wednesday, when the team officially waived Lirim Hajrullahu.

Hajrullahu came to Carolina’s rescue starting in Week 16 of the 2020 season, after Gonzalez sustained a quad injury during pregame warmups in Buffalo the outing prior. With no other viable option to replace the injured Gonzalez on such short notice, an impromptu kicking tryout would ensue featuring the likes of punter Lachlan Edwards, wide receiver Brandon Zylstra, running back Reggie Bonnafon and quarterback P.J. Walker.

Since that obviously wouldn’t suffice, Hajrullahu signed on to undertake the duties for the remainder of the year. He’d go on to convert four of his five field goal attempts and each of his eight extra point tries.

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