Bengals undrafted free agent venturing into uncharted territory in OTAs to win roster battle
The more rookies can do, especially the ones who weren't drafted, the better their chances are at making the Week 1 roster. Such is the case for undrafted punter Austin McNamara.McNamara, a rookie out of Texas Tech is competing to be Cincinnati's punter for the 2024 season, a job that is currently held by last […]
The more rookies can do, especially the ones who weren't drafted, the better their chances are at making the Week 1 roster. Such is the case for undrafted punter Austin McNamara.
McNamara, a rookie out of Texas Tech is competing to be Cincinnati's punter for the 2024 season, a job that is currently held by last year's sixth-round pick Brad Robbins.
But punting isn't the only way McNamara is kicking footballs for the Bengals this offseason.
During the Bengals' first day of OTAs, McNamara was seen practicing kickoffs with the special teams unit. It was the team's first chance to walkthrough the new kickoff format, and McNamara got reps booting the ball to the receiving team.
Placekicker has been a role held exclusively be kickers, not punters, for the Bengals since Darrin Simmons took over as special teams coordinator over a decade ago. Evan McPherson has handled kickoff duties since his rookie season back in 2021.
The Bengals have had other kickers participate in offseason work alongside McPherson, but only they have practiced kickoffs with him. McNamara is the first punter to get that work in with this iteration of the Bengals.
What makes it even more interesting is McNamara never kicked off for Texas Tech in college. He's also never kicked off under the new rules the NFL has put into place starting this season.
NFL kickers are permitted to land kickoffs between the opposition's 20-yard line and goal line. Booting kickoffs through the back of the end zone are officially a thing of the past in an effort to make sure kickoff returns remain a relevant play in the game.
McPherson at least has experience kicking to this part of the field, but seeing what McNamara can do opens up another opportunity for him to prove worthy of making the team. If McNamara is discovered to be better at kicking this distance compared to McPherson, the Bengals could end up keeping him on the team as the punter, holder, and kickoff specialist.
If not, then McNamara at least can still beat out Robbins for the first two roles. Having the ability to boot kickoffs just gives him more value.
New kickoff rules are sure to impact how every team constructs their roster, and deciding on the returner is definitely a part of that. Cincinnati had punt returner Charlie Jones field kickoffs during Tuesday's practice as well along with running backs Chase Brown, Trayveon Williams, and Chris Evans, and wide receivers Kwamie Lassiter II, and Cole Burgess.
All 23 of Jones' returns last season were from punts, not kickoffs. Williams handled the majority of the team's kickoff return duties. The new rules and flow of the play should give all six players a chance to prove who's the best at the new role.
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