3 free agent kickers who can replace Jason Myers

So, all eyes were on Blake Bortles’ under-throws, overthrows and near interceptions last night when the Jacksonville Jaguars faced off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But did anybody else notice that kicker Jason Myers continued to struggle?

Myers missed a 40-yard field goal attempt toward the end of the first half, and then followed that up by missing an extra point once the Jaguars finally got onto the scoreboard in the fourth quarter.

To make matters worse, Myers missed two field goals in the preseason opener against the New England Patriots. He did manage to hit all four PATs in that contest, at least.

Myers missed seven extra points as rookie in 2015. That is so bad, it is almost impressive. He then added another three to that total in 2016. He has made 53 of 64 field goal attempts over his first two seasons, which is respectable at about 82.8 percent.

However, the Jaguars cannot trust a placekicker who often misses extra points, and is recently shaky on field goal attempts. Perhaps like Bortles, Myers should not be a starter on this team.

The current free agent market for placekickers is not spectacular, but something needs to change. Here are three current free agents Jacksonville could bring in to replace to Myers.

1. Dan Carpenter

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Carpenter spent the last four seasons with the Buffalo Bills after playing his first five years with the Miami Dolphins. He is likely Jacksonville’s best option. He has made 236 of 281 field goal attempts, which at an 84 percent clip is higher than Myers on a significantly higher number of attempts. Carpenter has also hit almost 96 percent of extra points, compared to Myers’ 86 percent mark. Additionally, Carpenter was a Pro Bowler in 2009 and made the Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie team in 2008. He has struggled from 50 yards or more, however, hitting just about 58.5 percent of those. He has struggled with the longer extra point as well.

2. Patrick Murray

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Murray has only had one year as a full-time kicker, which was in Tampa Bay in 2014. He hit 20 out of 24 field goals that year, and was a perfect 31 for 31 on extra points. After sitting out the 2015 season, he signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2016. Due to a knee injury, Murray only appeared in two games and he was eventually waived. Though his attempts are limited, Murray has gone an impressive six out of seven from 40 yards or more out and five out of seven from 50 yards or more. Murray spent time at the New Orleans Saints camp this summer, but was recently released.

3. John Lunsford

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As mentioned the current free agent market is thin, so Jacksonville may have to take a risk if it wants to replace Myers. Lunsford has no recorded NFL stats. He has spent time with Tampa Bay, the San Francisco 49ers and most recently the Seattle Seahawks. Lunsford, went undrafted out of Liberty in 2016, which isn’t too uncommon given his position. Lunsford showed off his strong leg while at Liberty, hitting 12 career field goals of 50 yards or more, which is an FCS record. If you don’t believe me about Lunsford’s leg strength, take a look at the video below.

Outside of Carpenter the most accomplished kicker “available” is Josh Brown, but Jacksonville would be wise to stay away from him as he has admitted to domestic abuse after being investigated. Brown would be placed back on the commissioner’s exempt list if he were to sign. If he does sign somewhere, one would hope he gets suspended. He is not a person this franchise should bring in.

Other possible options are all unproven commodities. Jon Brown, who has spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals and undrafted rookie Andy Phillips, who attended Chicago Bears camp this season, may be worth taking a look at.

Besides that, we’ll see who is available after 53-man rosters are determined.