Roberto Aguayo’s rough rookie season convinced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that a kicker competition in 2017 would be a good idea. After Aguayo’s struggles Friday night in a preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Bucs have cut him.
Roberto Aguayo cut by Buccaneers following rough preseason game
The former second-round pick missed a field goal and an extra point in the Buccaneers’ preseason opener.
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The second-year kicker had three chances to impress against Cincinnati, but he missed an extra point early in the game and a 47-yard field goal attempt with one minute left in the fourth quarter. His only make was a 20-yard chip shot in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, his competition did well with his only opportunity. In the third quarter, Nick Folk nailed a 45-yard field goal.
Aguayo entered the game ahead of Folk on the team’s depth chart, but clearly his performance cause the team to make the decision to cut him.
”That’s something that will definitely be talked about,” Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter said after the game. “You’re a kicker, you gotta make your kicks.
“He kicked off well but ... that was a good situation for our competition (at the end).”
It’s a pretty stunning fall from grace for Aguayo, who was arguably the best kicker in college football history. The Buccaneers believed so much in the former Florida State kicker that the team traded up in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft to take him.
But as a rookie, he missed a league-leading nine field goals as well as two extra points. He was last in the NFL with a field goal percentage of 71.
In training camp, Aguayo was up and down. He had a “lights-out” practice last week, according to Koetter, but both he and Folk “stunk it up” just a few days later.
We’ll see what Aguayo’s future holds for him with his short Bucs career behind him.
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