This topic is not always on fans’ minds, but it’s worth a weekend thought. Brett Maher had a heck of a season… until the playoffs arrived. He saved the Cowboys from a disaster between two kickers I had never even heard of — Lirim Hajrullahu and Jonathan Garibay.
Even with Maher being cut by the team — largely due to his five missed PATs, four in the NFC Wild Card Game against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — he had his moments.
I even thought he did enough to keep his job! Guess not.
I wanted to touch on this because I want the Cowboys to avoid falling into the same trap as they did a season ago — banking on two guys anyone has yet to hear of to try and win the kicker job.
The time is now for Dallas to save time and sign a veteran kicker who has proven himself in this league; someone you can trust to send out there, no matter if it’s an extra point or a 55-yard field goal.
Who’s Next?
I hope the Cowboys can easily find a kicker who can come right in and be here from the start of the off-season. Let’s find a guy before June or July.
The way Jerry Jones sounded at the 2023 Reese’s Senior Bowl made it seem like he wanted to test the waters on drafting a kicker. Great.
Mason Crosby, Robbie Gould, Matt Gay, and Matt Prater are all guys that the Cowboys could have a chance to sign this off-season.
Matt Gay
Gay has played 41 regular season games with the Rams, and he’s been money.
He’s gone 74/80 on his field goal attempts and 17/23 from 50 yards or more. In his six postseason appearances, he is 12/14 on FG attempts and 15/15 on extra point attempts!
If the Rams don’t re-sign him, that is the first guy I would consider signing if I were Jerry and the ‘Boys.
Mason Crosby
Crosby is a close second. It pains me to say I want him on the team as often as I watched him send the Cowboys home in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Crosby made 37 of his 39 extra-point attempts and 25 of 29 field-goal attempts in 2022. He also only missed one kick from less than 50, which is pretty good for the 16-year vet.
He also played under Mike McCarthy during his tenure there. They won the 2010 Super Bowl together.
We all have no idea what is next, but as I noted all year, the kicker was going to matter at some point. The Cowboys’ window is closing, and they need to bring in a proven veteran that you can be confident in sending out for a field goal.
Whether it is to win a game or put you up two scores late, the Cowboys need a guy with ice in his veins.
Please do the right thing, don’t let me write about another kicking competition during training camp. That is the last thing we should have to worry about with this team.