Aging Arizona Cardinals kicker collects yet another weekly award
By Sion Fawkes
Matt Prater may be 39 years old, but the Arizona Cardinals kicker’s leg is still one of the strongest and most accurate in the NFL. He proved it last Sunday when he converted three field goals on three attempts plus an extra point, giving him 10 total points in the afternoon.
One of those field goals was a 62-yarder, and it was the third time in his career that Prater made one from beyond 60 yards. For context, only two other kickers reached that lofty goal, putting Prater in rare company and in strong consideration as one of the best to ever play the position.
This was the 15th time Prater won Special Teams Player of the Week, with only Adam Vinatieri collecting the honor more during his storied career. Prater, who earlier in his career played for the Denver Broncos and the Detroit Lions, also won the award a combined 12 times with them, and his previous three with Arizona.
Arizona Cardinals kicker collects 15th STPOW honor
He’s the first player in league history to win the award with three different clubs, and since Prater is showing no signs of slowing down, it’s likely that he will continue to contend for a few more and perhaps even threaten Vinatieri’s record.
Of course, it would be cool to see him do this with the Arizona Cardinals, a franchise that is always starving to have something positive attached to its name. Prater currently has one more season left on his current deal after this year, and although he will turn 40 next season, there is no point in the Redbirds to go in a different direction if he can still boot the ball through a pair of uprights from 60-plus yards.
Look for Prater’s success to continue this season, and there is no doubt that he could collect another STPOW award or two as the year progresses.
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(Sources - Pro-Football-Reference, NFL Communications)