Why Did Seahawks Opt Against Adding Competition For Jason Myers at Kicker?

With Pete Carroll's mantra of “Always Compete," it’s surprising the Seahawks have not brought in another kicker to push Myers considering he has performed below expectations in two of his three seasons with the organization.

Place kicker is one of those positions in the NFL that you’d rather not think about. Generally, if that position is top of the mind, it’s because the kicker hasn't gotten the job done.

Prior to 2019, the Seahawks fielded a carousel of kickers following the departure of Stephen “Hausch Money” Hauschka, who manned the position from 2011 to 2016. The traumatic Blair Walsh experience lasted for a single season in 2017, and the less said about that, the better. The 2018 season saw a competition between Sebastian Janikowski and Jason Myers – more on him later. Janikowski muscled his way to win the job and would eventually leave a pivotal playoff game against the Cowboys prior to halftime after injuring his hamstring on a field goal attempt.

Re-enter Jason Myers and his four-year, $15.45 million contract signed during the 2019 free agency period. Myers, originally an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars, was coming off a Pro Bowl season with the New York Jets where he made 33 of 36 field goal attempts (91.7 percent) and 30 of 33 extra point attempts (90.9 percent). Again, this Pro Bowl season with the Jets came after being released by the Seahawks during training camp in 2018. Seller’s remorse? Probably.

In his first season with the Seahawks, Myers connected on 23 of 28 field goals (82.1 percent) and 40 of 44 extra points (90.9 percent). He followed that up with a stellar 2020 season which included a perfect 24 of 24 field goals (100 percent) and 49 of 53 extra points (92.5 percent). Myers promptly regressed in 2021 in terms of field goals, only making 17 of 23 field goals (73.9 percent), which was his lowest field goal percentage since 2017 – and the second lowest of his career.

On a positive note, Myers did finish with his best season in terms of extra points, making 44 of 47 attempts (93.6 percent), but that percentage was still lower than 16 other kickers and he's been notorious for missing those chip shots throughout his career.

Following Myers’ steep decline in 2021, it is somewhat surprising that no competition has been brought in by the Seahawks up to this point, especially considering coach Pete Carroll’s “Always Compete” mantra. This is even more eye-opening considering that Myers is in the last year of his deal and the team could save $4 million by releasing him. Myers is also 31 years old, which is not a deal-breaker by any means at the kicker position, but it is still a spot that the Seahawks could look to go younger - and cheaper - to build for the future.

If there's good news, Myers has been far better in even-numbered seasons. His Pro Bowl came in 2018 and his perfect record-breaking season came in 2020, so he may have another big year in store with free agency coming next March.

Kickers are more prone to erratic play year to year than many other positions, and it's not abnormal for many of them to fail to replicate success over multiple seasons. They’re somewhat like baseball relief pitchers in that way. Many kickers – including Hauschka – bounced around with multiple teams before finally finding success. The list of current free agents isn’t very inspiring, which might be the prevailing reason that an outside kicker hasn’t been brought in to push Myers.

Even so, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see another kicker brought in if Myers struggles during training camp and preseason considering his 2021 performance and the potential cap savings. Given how things have played out the past few years, it would be nice to not have to think about the kicker in Seattle again.