Getty Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
Dallas Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein may be on shaky ground with the team as the postseason approaches. Head coach Mike McCarthy and owner Jerry Jones have both been critical of Zuerlein’s performance after the kicker missed his lone field goal attempt against the Cardinals. The Cowboys lost the matchup by three points and a made field goal would have theoretically sent the game into overtime.
“Well, I think this is playoff football, so all opportunities for points are important,” McCarthy responded during his postgame press conference when asked about Zuerlein’s miss. “Greg knows that, we all know that. So, I mean, we all have things that we can do better, and I think that’s the focal point. The goal is to win and improve and we didn’t get that done today.”
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Jones: ‘The Most Important Part of a Kicker Is Consistency’
Zuerlein struggled to start the season and the Cowboys briefly signed Lirim Hajrullahu (on three separate occasions) to put a bit more pressure on their veteran kicker. Hajrullahu’s stints with the Cowboys were all brief after Zuerlein’s struggles subsided. Heading into Week 18, Zuerlein has made 28 of his 34 field goal attempts, but he has missed a career-low five extra points this season.
Jones did not sound confident when asked what he would say to people who are worried about the team’s kicking game heading into the postseason. The Cowboys owner emphasized that the “most important part of a kicker is consistency.”
“I think the most important part of a kicker is consistency, consistency and it’s not consistently missing,” Jones told Dallas 105.3 the Fan on January 3 essentially calling out Zuerlein. “That’s it.”
It Is Unlikely the Cowboys Will Replace Zuerlein Before the Playoffs
The Cowboys could sign another kicker ahead of the postseason, but it is hard to imagine the team having more faith in a player that has not been in the building all season. CBS Sports’ Patrik Walker believes the Cowboys are too late to make a move at the position but that does not make it any less concerning as the postseason arroaches.
“Take that however you will, but if the Cowboys are peeking into possible options outside of Zuerlein, that ship might have already sailed,” Walker explained on January 4. “They re-signed Hajrullahu a third time this season when Zuerlein missed a game due to COVID-19, but the former has since spent time with the Washington Football Team before being poached from their practice squad by the Carolina Panthers.
“There’s always [Kai] Forbath, who was literally perfect in his short time with the Cowboys and, as mentioned, earned a contract extension that was trumped by Fassel’s want of Zuerlein in Dallas — after Zuerlein parted ways with the Rams in 2020. However, there appears to be no interest in circling back for Forbath, sources tell CBS Sports.”
It will be interesting to see if the Cowboys make a change at the position this offseason. Zuerlein has one season remaining on his three-year, $7.5 million contract. The kicker is slated to have a $2.2 million salary for the 2022 season.