3 kickers Cowboys could sign to upgrade from Brett Maher after playoff debacle

Now that the NFL Draft is in the rearview mirror, the focus shifts to minicamps and offseason workouts. For most teams, their current roster reflects who will be there in July when the real camp begins. For the Dallas Cowboys they still have a position that needs to be filled before July. That is their starting kicker.

Jerry Jones said early in the offseason the team was starting over in the kicking game. Brett Maher was brought back last season and had a solid second go-around. He went 29 of 32 on field goal attempts and 50 of 53 on extra point attempts.

However, in the Wild Card matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he missed four extra points. His meltdown prompted the Cowboys to sign Tristan Vizcaino to their practice squad ... and Jerry Jones to console Maher before the Divisional Round game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Maher, though, ended up kicking the whole game against the 49ers. The same problems plagued him as he missed the extra point after Dallas' first touchdown. He would respond by hitting both field goal attempts in the loss. His performace was not enough and Maher's fate was sealed as the Cowboys' future kicker.

With no signs of Maher coming back, kicker has been a need for the Cowboys the whole offseason, but they have yet to make a move. After not signing one during the initial free agency period, most expected them to either draft a kicker late or sign one as an undrafted free agent. Neither happened and now it leaves them going into team workouts without a key position filled.

The hope now is that Dallas will use this period to bring in kickers to try out. That could include finding some more undrafted players or brining in a veteran. After the draft Jerry alluded to a veteran being the most likely option.

Surprisingly, kicker signings have been low so far this offseason, with Matt Gay and Chase McLaughlin being the only veteran kickers to sign wit new teams. There are still good options for the Cowboys if they want to go with a veteran kicker at a reasonable price.