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Titans Add New Backup Kicker to Practice Squad

Sam Sloman was a seventh-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2020 NFL Draft.

David Boclair

Stephen Gostkowski remains the Tennessee Titans kicker.

His backup (competition?) has changed once again.

The Titans will sign Sam Sloman to their practice squad, according to his agency, JL Sports, which announced the move via Twitter on Tuesday morning.

The decision likely means franchise officials have seen enough of Giorgio Tavecchio, who was signed to the practice squad on Nov. 10. Tavecchio is a third-year veteran who last kicked in the regular season two years ago. He replaced undrafted rookie Tucker McCann, who was placed on practice squad-injured reserve on Nov. 7.

Sloman tried out for the Titans the same day Tavecchio did.

He is a rookie who kicked for the Los Angeles Rams in the first seven games of the season. He made eight of 11 field goals (72.7 percent) and his longest was from 42 yards. He also made 18 of 21 extra points. Only 59.5 percent of his kickoffs (22 of 37) resulted in touchbacks.

He was a seventh-round pick by the Rams in this year’s draft (248th out of 255 overall selections). In four seasons at Miami (Ohio) he made 49 of 62 field goals and his success rate improved each season, with a peak of 86.7 (26 of 30) in 2019.

Gostkowski has been inconsistent in his first season with Tennessee but made all three field goals he attempted in Sunday’s 30-24 overtime victory at Baltimore. It was the second time this season he has made three or more in a game but overall, he has made just 15 of 23 (65.2 percent) He kicked a game-winning field goal in each of the first three games.

His eight missed field goals are a career high. Four have been wide right and another hit the right upright. However, Gostkowski has made six of seven from 50 yards and beyond. In 14 seasons with New England, he never made more than five from 50-plus yards.

“We have to work on those, the block to the right – that seems to be his miss – and get him swinging it with confidence like he has on those longer kicks that we've seen him make at the end of game and throughout the season,” coach Mike Vrabel said last week. “[He is] trying to work on that.”

Now, he will be working with someone else in practice.

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David Boclair
DAVID BOCLAIR

David Boclair has covered the Tennessee Titans for multiple news outlets since 1998. He is award-winning journalist who has covered a wide range of topics in Middle Tennessee as well as Dallas-Fort Worth, where he worked for three different newspapers from 1987-96. As a student journalist at Southern Methodist University he covered the NCAA's decision to impose the so-called death penalty on the school's football program.

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