Miami Dolphins‘ new kicker Riley Patterson was leaving church and on his way to pick up groceries in Arizona when the Dolphins gave his phone a ring. Last week, the team announced that they would be out the services of their All-Pro kicker Jason Sanders for the next month or so due to a hip injury.
So, the Dolphins brought in Patterson (among others).
“It was a pretty easy decision,” special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman said.
Patterson was 13-for-13 in his tryout for the Dolphins, but he knows he has to take every game as it comes and not look too far into the future.
“Well, it’s to not think about the long term, because it doesn’t really matter,” Patterson said. “We have a game this week. We had a practice today. At the end of the day, I go out there, do my job, make kicks, and if things figure themselves out, I’m not concerned about my future too much.”
Aukerman wants Riley Patterson to feel comfortable and accepted
As it is, sometimes kickers aren’t always treated as having equal footing with the other players. They aren’t cracking their helmets into the middle of a line repeatedly and they don’t get the fanfare of the 60-yard touchdown catch. But, they win and lose games every week so the doubters can stick it.
Of the four kickers the Dolphins tried out, Patterson was not only perfect, but most of his kicks were dead down the middle. Aukerman is working to get him acclimated and comfortable (maybe don’t let him sit next to Tyreek Hill in the cafeteria. Too early to poison the well).
“Let them know that they’re a part of the team, even though it could be for three weeks, could be for six, could be for 10, could be the whole season,” Aukerman said. “Who knows? But we’re excited to have Riley and he’s done a really good job so far since he’s been here.”
Riley Patterson has plenty of NFL experience
To say Patterson has been around the NFL is an understatement, and you can check out his career stats if you don’t believe me. He’s played for the Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit again, the Cleveland Browns, the New York Jets, Cleveland again and the Atlanta Falcons.
Patterson has kicked in 44 NFL games throughout his career, hitting 63 of 74 attempts (85.1 percent) with a long of 53 yards. He’s only missed four extra points out of a possible 113, which is pretty darn good. His 4-9 from 50+ is a bit concerning, but Aukerman said he should be fine.
“I feel really comfortable of him hitting a 56-yarder or a 48-yarder at the end of the game,” Aukerman said. “He has a lot of confidence in himself, which is great.”
That’s fantastic that he’s confident, but if he continues to hit 44.4% from beyond 50, he won’t last long with the Dolphins or any other NFL team. Patterson knows it and is fully prepared to make his own luck.
“I’m thankful for Miami for giving me a really good opportunity,” Patterson said.
If he kicks functionally, he’ll eventually be replaced when Sanders returns. If he’s poor, he’ll be gone before Sanders even gets a “questionable” on the injury report.
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