If we can, I’d like to take a brief amount of time out of your lives today to talk about No. 2. No, I’m not talking about what goes on in the privacy of the bathroom. I’m talking about the current player on the Dallas Cowboys roster who wears the No. 2 jersey, Kicker Brett Maher.
Brett Maher surprisingly took over the placekicker job last season after outperforming fan favorite Dan Bailey. Bailey was near automatic during his time with the Dallas Cowboys, but unfortunately never returned to his old self after sustaining a groin injury in 2017. He even struggled with the Minnesota Vikings last year, making the Cowboys look pretty smart going with the unknown leg of Maher.
As good as the decision looks now to move on from Dan Bailey, Brett Maher had his ups and downs in 2018 as well. He made 80.6% (29 of 36) of his field goals with the long of 62 and made all but one of his 33 extra point attempts. His big leg came in handy on a number of occasions, but his midrange accuracy left much to be desired.
As things stand right now, Brett Maher is the only player on the entire Dallas Cowboys roster who doesn’t have any competition, making him the unquestioned placekicker heading into the 2019 season. I’m not completely against him resuming his current role this year, but for the Cowboys not to look for an upgrade is uncharacteristically like them.
We all know the Dallas Cowboys pride themselves on creating as much competition throughout the roster as possible. For me, this includes the specialty positions such as kicker, punter, and even long snapper despite how consistently impressive L. P. Ladouceur has been in his 15+ seasons with the Cowboys.
I know a lot of Cowboys Nation would like to see Matt Bryant in a Cowboys uniform this season, but his asking price and age (44) likely causes Dallas to look elsewhere. I wouldn’t rule it out completely considering he made 95.2% of his FGs last season with the Atlanta Falcons and the fact he’s a Texas native, but I also wouldn’t hold my breath on it happening.
The more likely scenario is the Cowboys bring in some younger kickers as a camp leg to see if one of them can unseat Maher. It would probably take some doing considering what a weapon he can be from long distances, but consistency is something that should definitely be factored in as well. Unfortunately, we all know just how important the impact of a missed or made FG can have on the outcome of a ballgame.
With the Dallas Cowboys in “win now” mode, they can’t afford not to look for an upgrade over Brett Maher. So, don’t be surprised if you see another kicker or two added to the roster sometime between now and training camp. Who knows, maybe they can find another diamond in the rough like they did with Dan Bailey when he joined the team as an undrafted free agent.
