With the regular season just two weeks away, the Indianapolis Colts have unofficially named their starting kicker for Week 1.
On Tuesday morning, the Colts waived veteran kicker Eddy Pineiro. He signed with the team earlier this year and was hoping to beat out Rodrigo Blankenship for the starting job. Clearly, that didn’t happen.
Pineiro began his NFL career with the Raiders before making his way over to the Bears. During the 2019 season, he went 23-for-28 on field goal attempts and 27-for-29 on extra point attempts.
Even though Pineiro performed well in training camp, Blankenship was simply better. It also helps that he’s younger and already has experience kicking in Indianapolis.
Colts are waiving kicker Eddy Pineiro, per source, meaning Rodrigo Blankenship wins Indy’s kicking job. Pineiro did not miss a kick this preseason and could draw interest on waivers with some teams struggling at kicker right now.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 24, 2021
Indianapolis signed Blankenship to a contract as an undrafted free agent in April of 2020.
Last season, Blankenship made 32 of 37 field goal attempts. The main issue for Blankenship is that he struggled from 50 yards out. Additionally, he missed a crucial field goal in the Colts’ playoffs loss to the Bills.
Hopefully, this year’s position battle brings the best out of Blankenship. If he can take his game to the next level, the Colts will feel good about him kicking in high-pressure situations.
The Colts will start the 2021 season at home against the Seattle Seahawks.
The post Indianapolis Colts Make Decision On Kicker Situation appeared first on The Spun.
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