Kicker has been a bit of a problem for the Carolina Panthers thus far. Starting kicker Joey Slye has missed two field goals and an extra point in preseason games, so the team has traded for some competition.
According to Panthers insider Joe Person, the Panthers have traded for New York Giants kicker Ryan Santoso. Per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, it’s a conditional seventh-round pick contingent on Santoso appearing in two games this year.
Santoso has never kicked a field goal in an NFL regular season game before. His only NFL action came in 2019, when he was deployed as the Tennessee Titans’ kickoff specialist.
But Santoso has looked sharp in camp and in the preseason games. He hasn’t been called upon to kick a field goal but is 2-for-2 on extra points.
However, Santoso did not appear poised to beat out incumbent starting kicker Graham Gano. Person found that ironic since Gano was once cut by the Panthers:
So Panthers trade for the backup of the guy they cut last year in Graham Gano. Sounds right.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) August 26, 2021
The #Giants get a draft pick for K Ryan Santoso, as a conditional 7th goes to NYG if he’s on the roster for two games. https://t.co/728kduZc8g
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 26, 2021
It remains to be seen if Ryan Santoso can actually win the Carolina Panthers’ starting job.
Giving up a draft pick for a kicker isn’t something that teams do lightly. Santoso will have to wildly outplay Gano if he expects the team to fulfill the terms of that trade.
Incumbent kicker Joey Slye has been money on kickoffs, with a 90-percent touchdback rate. But on field goals he’s pretty below average, converting less than 80-percent of them.
Who will win the starting kicker job for the Carolina Panthers?
The post Panthers Announce They’ve Traded For A New Kicker appeared first on The Spun.
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