Cowboys: Reunion with K Brett Maher off the table following recent news
The Dallas Cowboys are betting on two inexperienced kickers entering the 2023 NFL season: Tristan Vizcaino and USFL standout Brandon Aubrey. Many assumed entering the offseason that the Cowboys would look for a way to add some more NFL experience to the roster by inking a big-name veteran like Robbie Gould (who remains to be […]
The Dallas Cowboys are betting on two inexperienced kickers entering the 2023 NFL season: Tristan Vizcaino and USFL standout Brandon Aubrey.
Many assumed entering the offseason that the Cowboys would look for a way to add some more NFL experience to the roster by inking a big-name veteran like Robbie Gould (who remains to be signed by any team) or even by re-signing the controversial Brett Maher.
The latter is officially off the table as Maher is signing with the Denver Broncos, per KPRC's Aaron Wilson. The Broncos had released Brandon McManus in a salary cap-related move earlier this year.
Maher, although known to many as the man who missed a record-setting four extra points in the Cowboys' playoff win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, actually had a very good season in 2022. He had a 90.6% field goal rate – ninth best in the league – and made 9-of-11 attempts from 50 yards or longer.
Over the last couple of years, Maher even had a higher field goal percentage than many of the kickers available this year, including Gould.
I insist on this not to say with conviction that the Cowboys are making a mistake moving on from Maher but to highlight the fact that the franchise is taking a risk by doing so. After all, young kickers are very unpredictable. With Maher, the staff knew there was plenty of good beyond that disaster in the playoffs.
And yet, kicking is a mental game. The Cowboys perhaps feared Maher never getting all the way back from that long night in Tampa Bay.
For now, expect training camp to generate a ton of buzz from the couple of Cowboys kickers fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster. They probably won't be competing against themselves but also against everybody else on the planet.
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Featured image via Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
