Rodrigo Blankenship Wins Colts' Kicking Competition, Team Waives Jake Verity

The Colts have waived kicker Jake Verity and made official the signing of free-agent punter Matt Haack.

The Indianapolis Colts announced a pair of critical special teams moves on Thursday, signing free-agent punter Matt Haack and waiving kicker Jake Verity.

With the departure of Verity, it declares Rodrigo Blankenship the winner of the Colts' kicking competition, barring any moves made prior to the regular season. Blankenship had begun distancing himself mightily over the last couple of weeks so it was a little surprising that Verity wasn't one of the Colts' cuts before Tuesday afternoon's deadline. However, that is now a moot point.

In his two seasons as Indianapolis' placekicker, Blankenship has converted 43-of-51  (84.3%) field goals and 50-of-53 (94.3%) extra points for a total of 179 points.

Blankenship may have won this competition but it seems unlikely that the Colts will take the pressure off of him so that he continues earning his role. He was part of a competition with Chase McLaughlin in training camp as a rookie in 2020. He got injured midway through 2021, and despite being healthy enough to play again, was shelved for the year in favor of his replacement, Michael Badgley. The Colts, of course, then gave Blankenship competition again this summer.

As we mentioned yesterday, Haack replaces Rigoberto Sanchez, who unfortunately suffered a season-ending Achilles injury following practice on Tuesday. Sanchez isn't just the Colts' punter but is also their holder on kicks and the kickoff specialist. Haack also has handled holding and kickoff duties.

Haack (6'0", 205, 28 years old) spent four years with the Miami Dolphins (2017-20) before moving on to the Buffalo Bills last season. In 81 career games, he has punted 359 times, averaging 44.4 yards per punt, and landing 146 inside the opponent's 20-yard line with 22 touchbacks.

What do you think of these moves? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!

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