Getty Head coach Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers looks on in the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field on September 20, 2020 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
A prospective NFL kicker with an impressive backstory was among several specialists who worked out for the Green Bay Packers on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
The Packers held a workout for former University of Nevada product Ramiz Ahmed, who made the team in 2017 after the program held walk-on tryouts for students and earned the Wolf Pack’s starting kicker job the following season out of training camp. He was 15-of-20 on field-goal attempts and 40-of-44 on extra points in his career.
The 25-year-old Ahmed hasn’t played since finishing the 2018 FBS season, but he most recently spent time with the Chicago Bears after signing a one-year deal in mid-April to come in and challenge Eddy Pinero for the starting job. The Bears didn’t give him much of a chance, though, waiving him on Aug. 11 while trimming to 80 players.
The Packers also hosted a pair of punters with NFL experience for tryouts on Wednesday — Lachlan Edwards (New York Jets, 2016-19) and Colby Wadman (Denver Broncos, 2018-19). A young and secure JK Scott continues to thrive in Green Bay, but he is also the only punter on the active roster during a mid-pandemic NFL season.
The Packers worked out more specialists today:
K Ramiz Ahmed, who made his college team at Nevada via a student tryout.
P Lac Edwards (who punted for the Jets from 2016-19).
P Colby Wadman (the Broncos punter in 2018-19). t.co/NQ7Zr02Zt3
All three of the workouts are likely opportunities for the Packers to update their records on available talent, should COVID-19 or another unexpected reason force them to find a replacement for one of their two kicking specialists in a pinch. Veteran kicker Mason Crosby is also the only member of his position for the Packers.
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Scott Has Been Steady Through Two Weeks
The Packers have scored 85 points and run up more than 1,000 yards of offense in their first two games of the season, the type of production that leaves little room for punting, but Scott has still made the most of the few opportunities he has gotten.
All four of Scott’s punts during the 2020 season — including his three in Week 2 against the Detroit Lions — have been downed inside the 20-yard line with an average distance of 42 yards. At this point in the 2019 season, Scott had more than four times that amount with nine punts in the season opener against the Bears and another eight in the second week against the Minnesota Vikings.
Scott has been striving for a more consistent game in his third season with the Packers after some highs and lows throughout 2019. While booming offense helps keep him fresh, the 2018 fifth-round pick will need to ensure his efficiency stays up for the eventual games where the Packers need him to punt more frequently.
Tryout Punters Come With High Volume
The two punters who tried out for the Packers on Wednesday both come with experience that, at least in terms of attempts, puts them in the same range as Scott.
Wadman has punted just nine fewer times than Scott for the Broncos over the past two seasons, spending the first four games of his rookie season on the practice squad before ascending to a starting role. He averaged 44.5 yards on a total of 143 punts but was waived in April when Denver signed veteran Sam Martin.
Edwards, however, has far exceeded both Scott and Wadman when it comes to volume. He kicked a whooping 338 punts for an average of 45.5 yards across four seasons with the struggling Jets, hitting a career-high total of 94 in 2017 and remaining above the 80-plus threshold until he was released in 2020.
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