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Why are so many NFL kickers injured? Specialty switches tend to be on the rise this season

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Pro Football Writer

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The kicker carousel has circled frequently around the NFL this fall.

Runners continue to get injured.

Traditionally seen in this sport as tough guys as eccentric specialists who manage to avoid the danger that lurks on the field, the kicking community has experienced inordinate pain this season for a role that relies primarily on mental management. high pressure performance challenge.

Teams that made it this far without having to change kickers should feel lucky.

“I’m just looking for a live leg, you know?” New York Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said last week after his team’s latest shakeup landed Spencer Shrader, who is now headed to the Kansas City Chiefs with eighth-year veteran Harrison Butker on injured reserve.

Butker is one of seven kickers currently on IR, a sort of who’s-who group at the position that includes Matt Prater and Greg Zuerlein.

This will be Shrader’s third team, having also played one game for the Indianapolis Colts. His expected replacement with the Jets, Anders Carlson, has already played the role of kicker in two games for the San Francisco 49ers. There were 45 different players who attempted at least one kick during the regular season this week, and that number doesn’t reflect Shrader’s appearance with multiple teams. Essentially, once the weekend was over, the total would be 48.

The Jets will be up four – four weeks from now – and will join the 49ers and fellow tenant the New York Giants for the most in the league. The 49ers and Giants had to give their bettors a ride, due to injuries during the game. Washington’s commanders used three.

According to Sportradar data, only 41 kickers have been used in the league during the 2023 season, including a punter appearance and a double kick from Riley Patterson with the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions. Ten years ago, only 37 players attempted a kick during a regular season game.

So what’s the story? As you might expect, opinions vary within the NFL.

One problem has been the increase in the number of kickoffs following the rule change, as the 49ers experienced Jake Moody and Matthew Wright falling on consecutive plays while attempting to make a tackle. The touchback rate, according to Sportradar, fell from 74.3% in 2023 to 67.2% in 2024.

“I’ll never be the coach that says, ‘Let them score,’ but boy, it’s been two weeks in a row,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said last month.

There is also, of course, the theory that the collective increase in leg strength across the league has led to more muscle injuries. There have already been nine field goal attempts from 60+ yards, matching the 2023 total. The number of 50+ field goal attempts, currently at 154, is on pace to surpass the 2023 total of 230.

“Because of that, maybe you’re training and working on more 50-yard field goals during the week, so the stress on the leg and those soft tissue injuries build up as we go deeper and deeper. plus the field. season,” said Minnesota Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels, whose rookie kicker Will Reichard went down last week with a quadriceps strain that bubbled up in a recent game.

The Vikings typically start Wednesdays and Fridays in practice for a Sunday game.

“You really have to make sure you watch these guys, especially the young guys who feel like young whippersnappers and can kick until their leg falls off,” Daniels said. “You definitely have to be smart about it and hold them accountable, that’s for sure.”

For those who dismiss the correlation between long-distance kicking and increased injuries league-wide, it’s clear that workloads during the week need to be carefully managed.

“Part of the problem is finding that routine in the first place. I think some guys are young enough that it doesn’t matter at first, and after a few years, if they don’t have a routine, then it rears its head and something happens,” said Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins, who has been battling hamstring injuries for several seasons. “I don’t want to talk about long kicks, because in theory your effort is very similar – at least to me – for a 60-yard player to that for a 44-yard player.”

Parker Romo can attest to the benefits of a reliable routine. The 27-year-old got the call from the Vikings to replace Reichard and made all four of his field goal attempts to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.

“You definitely don’t want to kick too much just because you never know when that phone might ring. You have to be ready, because they call you one day and the next day you’re working for the team,” Romo said. “I think it’s just important to limit those longer reps. Of course, it’s fun to hit them and keep going, but you have to be smart with it.

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AP Pro Football Writers Josh Dubow, Teresa M. Walker and Dennis Waszak Jr. and AP Sports Writers Steve Megargee, Alanis Thames, John Wawrow and Tom Withers contributed.

The Associated Press contributed to this article