Thinking back to how many games the Bucs have lost due to kicking troubles the first two years under Head Coach Dirk Koetter, the Bucs moved to put that concern in the back of their mind by signing former Jets and Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Greg Auman.
I’m hearing that Bucs are signing former Cardinals and Jets kicker Chandler Catanzaro. Went 25/30 on FGs, 29/29 on PATs last year in New York.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 14, 2018
Can he make Bucs fans forget Roberto Aguayo and Nick Folk?
The Player
Catanzaro is a lifetime 84.4% field goal kicker with a career long of 60. He rebounded from a rough 2016 where he posted a career-worst 75% field goal accuracy rate with a strong 2017 in New York, converting 25-0f-30 kicks with a long of 57. Catanzaro was a little inconsistent with extra points early in his career, making 94.4% over his four-year career, but has made 72 of his last 76 extra points.
How Catanzaro Fits With The Bucs
Obviously, the Bucs need a reliable kicker. Do they get that with Catanzaro? It’s hard to say. Catanzaro goes through some inconsistent streaks but for the most part has been reliable. He’s also got range, hitting on 5 of his last 8 beyond 50 yds including a long of 60. It is a bit of an upgrade over Patrick Murray, who made 82% of his kicks but was 2-of-5 beyond 50.
Cap Impact
K Chandler Catanzaro deal with the Bucs: three years, $9.75 million, $3.75 million guaranteed, source says,
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 14, 2018
It may seem a little rich for a kicker, but that seems to be the going rate. Interesting the Bucs made a 3-year commitment to Catanzaro.
DLT’s Thoughts
Last season, the Buccaneers kickers missed 9 kicks and 3 extra points. Even in his worst season, Catanzaro missed 7. In three of his four years in the NFL, he missed 5 field goals or less. Is he Matt Bryant? No, but considering the awful kicking woes the Bucs have endured over the past two years let’s face it – he can’t be much worse.
J.C. De La Torre
Want to give JC a piece of your mind? E-mail him at JC@whatthebuc.net JC De La Torre is formerly a columnist/blogger for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blog site BucsNation.com where in 2016, he was nominated as best sportswriter in Tampa Bay by Creative Loafing. Previously, he served as a featured columnist for Bleacher Report on Tampa Bay sports, an editor and featured columnist for SB Nation Tampa Bay covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Gators, wrote for NFL.com’s Blog Blitz and contributed to Pewter Report, one of the top magazines on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. JC is also a filmmaker, comic writer and rabid Whovian.
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