Raiders Sure-Footed Record-Setting Daniel Carlson
The Silver and Black have secured a reliable kicker for another season.
Kickers are one of the most underappreciated positions in the NFL. Kickers, often ignored when they win but heavily scrutinized when they miss kicks.
That was the case for the 6-foot-5, 215-pound placekicker Daniel Carlson, who struggled early in his rookie season.
He found himself kicking his way out the door quickly. Carlson found himself released before signing as a free agent with the Oakland Raiders.
That was where he went on to have a spectacular year, hitting 94 percent of his field goals, a Raiders franchise record in 2018.
He would then have a down season in 2019.
"Obviously I missed a couple of kicks, missed some extra points, I had a lot of kicks but there's obviously perfection to strive for in categories and statistically," said Carlson.
With the pressure on the line in 2020, Carlson would make a comeback, breaking his franchise record, connecting on 94.3 percent of his field-goal attempts.
"There's always improvement, beside any other position player. I'm always going to strive to work harder," said Carlson.
Aside from breaking his field goal percentage record, Carlson would break another franchise record. That would be kicker Sebastian Janikowski for the most points scored in a single season in franchise history.
Carlson's 144 points broke the record by two points. The points came from scoring 33 field goals and 45 extra-point attempts in 2020.
"Any time you can break a record like that for an organization like the Raiders especially, it's a huge deal," Carlson said on Jan. 4. "Glad I could help the team the way I could this season and rack up some points along the way."
In only three seasons, Carlson had totaled 301 career points. He currently ranks 11th in Raiders history, and indeed he will move well into the top 10 next season.
Head coach Jon Gruden has praised Carlson's work and has doubled down on how much he trusts him in critical moments.
After receiving a second-round tender this past March, the Raiders extended Carlson to a one-year contract worth $3.384 million. That's a considerable pay raise for a kicker who played for a base salary of $750,000 in 2020.
At least for another year, the Raiders will have a reliable kicker going on to the field.
In a rich history of great kickers, Carlson has the potential of becoming one of the greatest kickers in franchise history.
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