Cowboys Kicker Competition is 'Fluid,' Says Jerry Jones; Robbie Gould Idea?

The Dallas Cowboys hope their never-ending kicking saga will finally start to find an ending here in Oxnard with Brandon Aubrey and Tristan Vizcaino doing battle among specialists.

OXNARD, Calif. - The good news for the Dallas Cowboys and their curious kicking situation is that an endless supply of kickers is on their way to AT&T Stadium. The bad news is that the FIFA World Cup won't make its way to Arlington until the summer of 2026.

In the meantime, Dallas has enlisted Brandon Aubrey and Tristan Vizcaino to solve the kicking conundrum in the wake of Brett Maher's departure. Aubrey is a former soccer player himself, playing with Notre Dame and Toronto FC's developmental team before moving to a new kind of football and winning two USFL championships with the Birmingham Stallions. Vizcaino, on the other hand, has been an NFL nomad, spending time on the rosters of seven different teams in four prior seasons, hitting 9-of-10 triples in 10 regular season appearances.

Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones commented on the special situation surrounding the specialists as the team set up training camp in Oxnard.

"Let's see what we've got," Jones told us. "Let's see how they practice. Let's get comfortable with what they're doing."

The Cowboys' kicking saga starring Maher was one of the most bizarre subplots of the last NFL season: he successfully converted over 90 percent of his three-point attempts (a career-best and eighth in the NFL) but ended the year on a 1-of-6 streak on extra points during Dallas' postseason run. 

Maher has since signed with the Denver Broncos. The ending of his second tour was almost equally uncanny as its beginning, as Maher was not on the opening camp roster. Dallas originally staged a summer battle between Jonathan Garibay and Lirim Hajrullahu but ejected both in favor of Maher. 

Going with Aubrey and Vizcaino when there are downright historic names available on the specialists' free agent ledgers (I.e. Mason Crosby, Robbie Gould, Ryan Succop) seems like a curious decision. While stressing that "all options are open," Jones expressed a desire to see the kicking battle solved in house this year.

"I think what we have in camp has the potential to be the answer," he said. "It's not something that we're waiting on, everyday, to try and come up with an additive there."

"What comes up, we'll see. I think competition is competition. If all of a sudden we see some true competition, if we see a way to do it better, we'll go that route. It's that fluid right now."

Aubrey and Vizcaino's first chance to impress in a game-like setting will come on Aug. 12, when the Cowboys take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in their preseason opener. But the competition begins here in Oxnard now ... with other names maybe sitting by the phone.

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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