Seattle Seahawks Sign New Kicker For 2018 Season
The Seattle Seahawks signed a new kicker on Wednesday, January 3. It was expected that the Seahawks were done with kicker Blair Walsh and this piece of news may confirm what many fans have been clamoring for on social media. After Walsh missed a 48-yard field goal that would have given the Seahawks a Week 17 win over the Arizona Cardinals, the fans have been pretty unkind on social media. Now there is already some Seahawks news about addressing the situation.
A report by the Seattle Times states that the Seattle Seahawks have signed kicker Jason Myers to a futures contract. What this means is that Myers will officially be a member of the Seahawks when the 2018 NFL league year begins on March 14. The easiest way to view it is that this is a placeholder move, giving the Seahawks a kicker who is not named Blair Walsh. Walsh is going to be a free agent during the upcoming NFL offseason and could sign with a different team.
Regarding these Seattle Seahawks rumors, Jason Myers was formerly a kicker for the Jacksonville Jaguars, connecting on 64-of-79 field goal attempts during his time with the team. Jacksonville released Myers in October following three misses that likely cost them two games. Each of the kicks was from 52 yards or further, though, showing that Myers was placed in a difficult position by the team. Myers is still just 26 and could serve as an inexpensive option for the Seahawks.
Wednesday Round-Up: @espn.com named their regular-season MVPs for every @NFL team.????
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— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 3, 2018
Outgoing kicker Blair Walsh connected on 21-of-29 field goal attempts for the Seattle Seahawks. The veteran kicker was on a one-year deal with the Seahawks, so the team won’t need to cut him in order to move in a new direction. The front office likely wasn’t given much of a choice anyway, as the fan outcry to move on from Walsh drowned out the potential of bringing him back for a second season.
The signing of Jason Myers definitely puts the Seahawks on a new path, but it also leaves an opening for the team to pursue another kicker through free agency or the 2018 NFL Draft. It is likely that Myers will get a shot to compete for the starting role during the next training camp, but the Seahawks aren’t necessarily committed to him just yet. Positive takeaways from this Seattle Seahawks news is that Myers has a great leg, connecting on field goals as long as 58 yards in his brief 38-game NFL career.
