Getty The Cowboys could consider signing kicker Brandon McManus.
The Dallas Cowboys could be the ideal landing spot for a recently released former Super Bowl champion.
As written by CBS Sports’ Bryan DeArdo, the Cowboys should be considered the “top landing spot” for recently released kicker Brandon McManus. The Denver Broncos cut their long-time kicker after nine seasons on Tuesday, May 23 .
DeArdo argues the Cowboys’ need for a veteran kicker should lead to interest in McManus, who won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos at the conclusion of the 2015 season.
“One team that quickly came to mind is the Dallas Cowboys, who have been open about their desire to find a solution at kicker after they chose not to re-sign Brett Maher, who missed five point-after attempts in Dallas’ two playoff games this past January,” writes DeArdo.
Why Cowboys Could Sign Brandon McManus
The Cowboys currently feature one kicker on its roster, Tristan Vizcaino. However, the 26-year-old has appeared in just 10 career games and has never served as a team’s kicker over an entire season.
Meanwhile, McManus is the definition of an experienced kicker. Not only did he serve as the Broncos’ full-time kicker over the course of nine seasons, he’s known for his strong leg, having converted a 61-yard field goal during the 2021 season.
With that being said, McManus is coming off of arguably the worst season of his career. He converted on just 28-of-36 field goal attempts this past season, the third-lowest rate of his career at 77.8%. Furthermore, he also had a career-high two field goal attempts blocked and went just 8-of-13 on attempts (61.5%) beyond 50 yards.
By comparison, former Cowboys kicker Brett Maher — who the team decided to move on from this offseason and has a tryout lined up with the Broncos — converted on 29-of-32 attempts (90.6%) last season and 9-of-11 field goal attempts (81.8%) from beyond 50 yards.
However, it’s clear Dallas wanted to move in a different direction after Maher’s disastrous postseason performance. The veteran kicker missed five extra point attempts during the Cowboys’ two postseason games.
Cowboys Coach Reveals Dallas Wants Second Kicker
Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel stated earlier in the month that Dallas is seeking another kicker.
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. “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.”
Fassel singled out three veteran kickers from the free agency wire — Robbie Gould, Ryan Succop and Mason Crosby — who all have similar resumes to the recently released McManus.
“There’s veterans on the street right now – let’s face it, there’s Mason (Crosby), there’s Robbie (Gould), there’s (Ryan) Succop,” 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.”
It remains to be seen how much interest the Cowboys will show McManus, but there’s little doubt that they’ll definitely consider him an option.