A notable former Dallas Cowboys veteran could be looking at his new home.
As reported by Mike Klis of 9News, former Cowboys kicker Brett Maher had a tryout with the Denver Broncos on Wednesday, May 24. Maher was one of three kickers — veteran Elliott Fry and Parker White being the others — that tried out for the Broncos during the session.
The workouts occurred shortly after Denver surprisingly released longtime kicker Brandon McManus on Tuesday.
“Per source, Broncos brought in 3 kickers for the McManus Bowl tryouts today: Elliott Fry, Brett Maher and Parker White,” writes Klis. “No decision yet on signing. Fry is 5 of 6 in FGs in his career. Spent time this year with Cardinals; last year with multiple teams.”
Why the Cowboys Released Brett Maher
Maher spent the 2022 season with the Cowboys after having two previous stints with the franchise. From an overall perspective, Maher actually had a very good season. The 33-year-old veteran converted on 29-of-32 field goal attempts (90.6%) and made the fourth 60-yard field goal of his career, an NFL record.
From a statistical standpoint, Maher was one of the better kickers in the NFL last season, ranking third in points scored, second in extra points made and eighth in field goal percentage.
However, his well-known struggles during the playoffs eventually led to Dallas moving away from Maher during the offseason. Maher missed four of his five extra point attempts during the team’s wild card playoff game versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an NFL record. While the Cowboys stuck with Maher for their divisional round playoff matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, Maher continued to struggle, missing an extra point during the game.
Shortly after the conclusion of the 2022 season, team owner Jerry Jones made it no secret that Dallas was starting all over at kicker.
Via Clarence Hill Jr. of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
“Jerry Jones said the Cowboys are starting over at kicker,” Hill tweeted back in February.
As FanSided’s Kristen Wong wrote about Maher, the Cowboys have on from “a playoff failure.”
Cowboys Open to Many Options at Kicker
The Cowboys’ lone kicker on its roster is Tristan Vizcaino. However, the 26-year-old has just 10 career NFL appearances to his name and has never served as a full-time kicker since making his first appearance during the 2020 season.
Dallas has made it no secret that they’re seeking a veteran kicker, with special teams coordinator John Fassel making that very clear earlier in the month.
Via Nick Eatman of the Cowboys’ official website:
“We have Tristan on the roster. Anybody else on Earth who is not on the team right now, is under consideration,” Fassel said on May 13. “That’s everyone really. I think we have a lot of different guys that we’re still looking at — XFL, USFL, veterans on the street, younger guys who still haven’t found their way.”
However, one kicker who won’t be an option is Maher. Fassel singled out three veteran kickers — Robbie Gould, Mason Crosby and Ryan Succop — who could be options for the Cowboys.
“There’s veterans on the street right now – let’s face it, there’s Mason (Crosby), there’s Robbie (Gould), there’s (Ryan) Succup,” said Fassel. “There’s a lot of guys that have performed in the NFL, and you weigh that against everything else. There’s really no secrets of who’s available. The good thing for us at the kicker spot is just being patient and deciding who that second guy is we’re going to bring in, whether it’s now or training camp.”
While Maher probably won’t be back in Dallas for a fourth stint, the recently-released McManus is being proposed as a possible option for the Cowboys.
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