Colts trying out kickers on Tuesday in wake of Rodrigo Blankenship's miss
INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts brought in at least two kickers to try out Tuesday, according to league sources, in the wake of Rodrigo Blankenship missing a game-winning, 42-yard field goal in overtime against the Texans on Sunday. NFL Network's Tom Peliserro has reported that Blankenship has been released.
Indianapolis tried out former Jaguars kickers Josh Lambo and Matthew Wright, sources said; it is unclear if the Colts brought in more kickers.
More:Doyel: Can Colts admit Rodrigo Blankenship has kicked himself out of job?
Wright will not be signing with Indianapolis, according to a source.
Lambo, who has not kicked regularly in the NFL since a hip injury put him on injured reserve in 2020, has made 87.1% of his field goals and 89.9% of his extra points in a seven-year career spent with the Chargers and Jaguars.
The veteran kicker also has extensive experience handling kickoffs, a key part of the Colts’ decision-making process if they decide to replace Blankenship, who was thrust into the job by punter Rigoberto Sanchez’s season-ending Achilles tear.
Blankenship struggled in that role at the end of Sunday’s game, hooking two kicks out of bounds for penalties that gave Houston excellent field position.
"We have continued, since he's gotten here in '20, to develop his kickoffs," special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone said. "He practices his kickoffs regularly, in the event that Rigo wouldn't be available. ... We've done a good job of getting his kickoffs to the level where we were comfortable playing in a game like that."
Indianapolis has not officially indicated its plans at the kicker position
When Colts head coach Frank Reich spoke on Monday afternoon, he hadn’t been through his weekly 5:45 p.m. Monday personnel meeting with general manager Chris Ballard.
“It’s been the same meeting we’ve had since I’ve been here where, gathering information throughout the day, looking at tape, having sidebar conversations, always having a view, looking at everything, everybody who gets evaluated at every position,” Reich said. “Then, what are we going to do?”
Blankenship made 86.5 percent of his field goals and 43 of 45 extra points as a rookie in 2020.
But he has struggled since then, and he has never consistently hit from distance in the NFL. Blankenship has made 13 of 17 field goals, or 76.5 percent in the past two seasons, suffered a hip injury in Baltimore and was not restored to the active roster in 2021 after he got healthy. He has made just 3 of 8 kicks from 46 yards or longer in the NFL, and just 1 of 5 from beyond 50 yards.
Indianapolis signed Jake Verity to compete with Blankenship in training camp, but Verity struggled with his accuracy, and Blankenship was consistent on the practice fields and in the preseason.
The Colts' special teams coordinator still has confidence in the third-year kicker.
"I think Rod's a good kicker," Ventrone said after acknowledging that Blankenship did not kick well in the season opener on Sunday.
Reich stopped short on Monday of expressing the same sort of confidence.
“As we evaluate that and how we feel about it, you consider all those things and then it’s a question of, hey, a guy had a bad day, can he bounce back? Do we have the patience for a guy to bounce back?” Reich said. “Those are the things you think through and talk through.”
Reich will meet with the media again Wednesday.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts trying out kickers Tuesday in wake of Rodrigo Blankenship's miss
