The Dallas Cowboys need to find themselves a new kicker. But they should still keep the old one around in order to take advantage of his massive leg.
It can be argued that Brett Maher is the worst kicker in the NFL this season. The Dallas Cowboys second-year kicker has missed a league-high 10 field goal attempts, hitting on just 20 of his 30 tries (66.7) so far this year.
Maher has struggled particularly from the 40-49 yard range as he’s only connected on one of his five field-goal attempts from that distance. Against the Chicago Bears on Thursday night, down 10-7 in the second quarter, Maher missed a 42-yarder wide right. It was his eighth game this season to miss one or more field goal attempts in a contest.
And for the second consecutive week, the Cowboys are reportedly going to try out kickers to replace Maher. Dallas will host free-agent kickers Kai Forbath, Tristan Vizcaino and Nick Rose on Monday, that according to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News.
If the Cowboys decide this time to sign a new kicker, it doesn’t mean they should get rid of the old one. Maher’s one redeeming quality, and likely the only reason he’s remained in Dallas even this long is his ability to hit long field goals.
The 30-year old has connected from beyond 60-yards three times this season, including a franchise-record 63-yarder against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week Seven. That kind of range is the envy of the entire league.
From 50-yards and beyond, Maher is four of eight. Last season, he was an impressive six of seven from that distance. Still, there’s only one other kicker (Carolina’s Joey Slye) in the entire NFL whose had more attempts from that range this season.
Do the Dallas Cowboys need to add another kicker to their roster? Absolutely. But they shouldn’t move on from Brett Maher as he can still be a long-distance weapon for Dallas, while also being their primary extra point and kick-off specialist. If the Cowboys do release Maher, his massive leg should draw massive interest from a league desperate for kickers. Even inconsistent ones.