Veteran placekicker joins Arizona Cardinals practice squad

Zane Gonzalez‘s shaky week one performance may have convinced the Arizona Cardinals to add Mike Nugent to the practice squad

One of the most pleasant surprises of the 2019 Arizona Cardinals was their kicking game. Zane Gonzalez, who was acquired by the club back in 2018, brought stability back to a position that sorely needed it. The 25-year old connected on 31 of his 35 field-goal tries, and was successful on 34 out of a possible 35 extra-point attempts as well.

But instead of riding that momentum into the 2020 campaign, Gonzalez proceeded to lay an egg during the Cards season-opening victory this past Sunday. The former Cleveland Browns draft pick attempted three field-goals against the San Francisco 49ers, but botched two of them. Gonzalez’s 56-yarder right before halftime was a career high, while the pair of misses came from distances of 52 and 49 yards.

Perhaps as a reaction to Gonzalez’s shaky performance, Arizona went out and signed veteran Mike Nugent to the team’s practice squad. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury went out of his way, however, to give a ringing endorsement to his current placekicker.

“We feel very comfortable with Zane and where he’s at,” reasoned Kingsbury. “Obviously, you like to make those, but those are long kicks, and we’ve got to do a good job offensively of not making him kick three 50-yard field goals”.

Nugent is more than capable of coming to the Cardinals rescue if Gonzalez continues to falter. The 38-year old has been in the NFL since 2005, and has been a part of eight different professional organizations. In fact, Nugent made a brief appearance with the Cards back in 2009 after regular kicker Neil Rackers was sidelined with a groin injury.

Besides his short stint with Arizona, Nugent has also spent time with the New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots. In 168 career games, the former second-round draft selection has booted 258 out of his 319 field-goal tries through the uprights. In addition, Nugent has been successful on 378 of his 393 extra-point attempts.

Kingsbury used COVID-19 as an excuse for bringing Nugent into the fold. If Gonzalez was infected with the virus, the well-traveled Ohio native could immediately be elevated to the 53-man roster. Basically, Nugent is an insurance policy for the Cardinals that will be ready to perform if the opportunity presents itself.

For now, it’s Gonzalez’s job to lose. Only time will tell if the former Arizona State University product will remain the Cards placekicker for the remainder of the season.