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USATSI

When the Washington Commanders kick off their latest round of offseason training activities (OTAs) this week, don't expect to see any actual kickoffs take place and that's because they don't currently have a kicker. 

The Commanders only had one kicker on their roster this offseason and that number is now down to zero after the team decided to cut Brandon McManus on Sunday. The Commanders kicker was hit with a sexual assault allegation in a lawsuit that was filed last week and six days after that allegation went public, Washington decided to cut ties with him (You can get the full details on the lawsuit here). 

With McManus gone, the Commanders are now in the market for a kicker, so let's take a look at their options. 

The Old Guys

If the Commanders are looking for a veteran kicker with more than 10 years of experience, there are two solid options out there:

The downside of both guys is their age. These two kickers combined to play exactly three games in 2023 and that's mainly because they've lost some of their power as they've gotten older. Succop is 37 and Crosby is 39, so there is some risk to signing either one of these guys. However, both kickers have been solid from inside 50 yards, which the Commanders might appreciate after watching Joey Slye hit just 84.2% of his kicks from that range last season. Succop hit 93.5% from that range in 2022 while Crosby has hit 90% over the past two seasons.  

The Younger Guys

There aren't a lot of free agent options out there, but if the Commanders are looking for someone UNDER the age of 35, they essentially have three options: 

Maher arguably has the most talent out of this group, but it's hard to know where his head is at. The former Cowboys kicker hasn't been the same since missing five extra points in a single postseason back in 2022. Maher kicked last season for the Rams and although his numbers weren't impressive -- he went just 17 of 23 -- four of those six misses came from 51 yards or longer. He was also a perfect 13 of 13 from 45 yards and in. 

Bullock spent six games with the Giants last season and he went 5 of 6 on field goals, including a game-winner from 37 yards on Monday night in Week 14 that gave New York a shocking win over the Packers last season. 

He might be the safest option. 

As for Gonzalez, he injured his calf during the 2023 preseason while playing for the 49ers and he ended up getting cut before the start of the regular season. One downside with Gonzalez is that he hasn't kicked in a game since 2021, but he did hit 90.1% of his field goals that year, which came in Arizona. 

The UFL options

The UFL regular season officially ended over the weekend, which means that UFL players are now free to sign with NFL teams as long as their team isn't in the UFL playoffs. 

There are two players the Commanders could sign right now who might be worth taking a look at and those two players are: 

Coghlin was one of the best kickers in the UFL in 2024, hitting 16 of 18 field goals. He closed the season by hitting 15 straight kicks and his only two misses came from beyond 55 yards. 

As for McCrane, he played for the DC Defenders, so he's already in the Commanders backyard. McCrane started the season hot, but he went 6 of 9 over his final five games. However, he was strong from long range, going 5 of 7 from 50 yards or more with a long of 58. 

As for the UFL kickers in the playoffs, the Commanders will have two more options if they want to wait until the UFL postseason is over: 

Bates was the kicking star of the UFL season thanks in large part to the fact that he hit THREE field goals from 60 yards or longer (To put that in perspective: Only three kickers in NFL history have even made three 60-yard field goals in their ENTIRE career and none of them did it all in a single season). 

Bates missed five field goals on the season, but four of them came from beyond 50 yards. He certainly appears to have the strongest leg of anyone out there and it might be worth it for the Commanders to wait for him to become available. 

Szmyt got somewhat overshadowed by Bates, but he also had a solid season. The Battlehawks kicker hit 90.5% of his field goals (19 of 21) during the season, including a 61-yarder. 

If the Commanders don't call Szmyt or Bates, there's a good chance that another NFL team will. 

Possible trade candidates

There are plenty of kicking competitions going on around the NFL and if the Commanders don't want to wait for those to end, they could make a phone call to a team that currently has two kickers. Here are some of the trade options for Washington: 

Of these four names, Joseph has the most experience, but he also might win the Packers kicking job, so Green Bay might not be willing to deal him away. The Browns gave up on York after his rookie season in 2022, but they've signed him back to their practice squad for 2024. As for Wright, he's almost certainly not going to beat out Chris Boswell, so the Steelers might be willing to move him. Finally, there's Romo, who has never kicked in an NFL game, so there is some downside there. 

The bottom line here is that the Commanders definitely have some options. At this point, it might be worth signing a kicker now and then waiting for Szmyt or Bates to become available after the UFL playoffs.