The Cincinnati Bengals released kicker Mike Nugent on Tuesday. The move comes a little over three weeks after Nugent missed his first extra points of the season in a 16-12 loss to the Bills that severely damaged the team’s playoff hopes.
Bengals release Mike Nugent after XP misses
Cincinnati will roll the dice and search for a new kicker for the first time since 2010.
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
In Sunday’s win over the Cleveland Browns, Nugent missed one of three PATs, and he missed one of two field goal attempts. For the season, he had made only 23 of 29 kicks and missed all three of his attempts from more than 50 yards. His 79.3 percent success rate is below his career average of 80 percent.
Nugent was drafted in the second round of the 2004 NFL draft by the New York Jets but lost his job in the Big Apple thanks in part to an injury that allowed Jay Feely to take his spot. Brief stints with the Buccaneers and Cardinals followed before he landed with the Bengals in 2010.
The 12-year veteran has failed to live up to the hype that followed a pair of All-American honors as a kicker at Ohio State and the second-round draft pick the Jets invested in him. However, Nugent hasn’t been the only specialist to struggle this season. NFL kickers set a league record by missing 11 extra points in Week 11.
If extra points continue to be anything but a sure thing for the rest of 2016, Nugent could find himself back at work before the holidays.
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