Exciting times await Dolphins fans. We can finally say training camp opens soon. As I look at the current depth chart, all positions have a starter and at least one backup, i.e., competition, except for two, Long Snapper and Kicker. One of these I understand, but one I don’t. Blake Ferguson is the team’s Long Snapper and has played the better part of three seasons and has done so admirably. On the other hand, there’s Jason Sanders.
Sanders, an unheralded seventh-round draft pick in 2018, had a remarkable rookie season hitting 90% of his field goals (FGs), including 80% from beyond 40 yards. In his sophomore campaign, Sanders’ accuracy dropped nearly 15% to 76.7% and only 57% from beyond 40, a dreadful 29% decline. This began a Jekyll and Hyde on-again/off-again pattern for Sanders. In 2020, he bounced back with an outstanding year. He hit 36-39 FGs (92%), including 20-33 (61%) from beyond 40! He also hit on all 36 of his extra points (PATs). It appeared the Dolphins had their Kicker for the foreseeable future. Alas, Mr. Hyde showed up again. In the past two years, Sanders was ninth worst (81%) in the NFL in FG% and eighth worst (93%) in PAT% in 2021 and fifth worst in the league in FG% (74%), and 16th in PAT% (97%). He did, however, kick a 50-yarder game-winner against the Jets to put the Fins into playoffs, and then he continued his clutch performance by going 3-3 in the wild-card game at Buffalo.
Yet with all the inconsistency Sanders has shown during his career, only one Kicker remains on the Dolphins’ roster of 90 players. They didn’t draft a kicker or sign a college kid post-draft, and they haven’t invited anyone to try out. Should there be a “yet” at the end of that sentence? I’m curious as to why Sanders is being given a free pass, given his track record. There ARE veteran Kickers out there, such as Ryan Succop, Mason Crosby, and Brett Maher, as well as countless no-name kids just itching to show off their wares. I’m thinking of somebody like FAU’s Greg Joseph, who came out of nowhere, or even the Chiefs’ Harrison Butker, who hit a measly 72% of his FGs in college.
There’s also Sanders’ contract to keep in mind. He signed a huge extension in 2021 for $22 million with a cap hit this year of $3.77 million. Dead cap dollars are $3.6 million, so cutting him this year wouldn’t be a game-changer. That difference will grow significantly next year. But dollars or not, the Dolphins need a reliable, consistent Kicker if this team is going to succeed in the regular season and hopefully beyond. I don’t think a little competition could hurt in trying to achieve that goal.
