Will next ST coordinator seek a change at kicker?
Zuerlein is coming off his worst season since 2015, making just 72.7% of his field goal attempts after making 87.1%, 95%, and 86.4% in the last three seasons, respectively. He did make all of his extra point attempts, which is encouraging, but it’s impossible to ignore Zuerlein’s struggles – especially from the critical distance of 40-49 yards (5-for-11).
Zuerlein came into the NFL with Fassel as his special teams coordinator and worked with him in each of the last eight years. He’s the only coordinator Zuerlein’s ever known, but that will change in 2020. With free agency looming, will Fassel’s replacement want to keep Zuerlein around? Or will he want to bring in his own kicker?
Again, the special teams coordinator isn’t the only decision-maker in this process, but he’s definitely going to have a say in the Rams’ kicker next season. Zuerlein’s price came down after his disappointing 2019 season, but maybe not enough for the Rams to feel comfortable extending him.