The Buffalo Bills are really not trying to let Ray Davis kick in a regular-season game.
Buffalo worked out three kickers amid concerns about incumbent Tyler Bass’ ongoing injury woes and may need to sign one ahead of its Week 1 date with the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday night.
Bass sustained a pelvic injury — feared by some to be a sports hernia — in July. That led to Davis, the Bills backup running back, to kick one extra point in their Week 1 preseason loss to the New York Giants.
But Bass returned for Buffalo’s preseason finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and made 3 of 4 field goals and went 2 for 2 on extra points. That led Buffalo to release Caden Davis, who had done the placekicking duties in the preseason — outside of Ray Davis’ one made kick.
This will be Bass’ sixth season kicking for the Bills, and he went 24 for 29 on field goals and 59 for 64 on extra points in 2024. In his previous five seasons, Bass has an 84.5 made-field-goal percentage and is 96.4 percent on extra points.
Which Kickers Did The Bills Work Out?
Adding to the intrigue is the fact the Bills worked out three veterans that would be household names for most football fans.
Greg Joseph, Eddy Piñeiro and Zane Gonzalez each took his turn at the Bills facility Thursday, just 10 days ahead of Buffalo’s season opener.
Joseph, a six-year journeyman, spent his 2024 season with three teams, the Giants, New York Jets and Washington Commanders. He was briefly in a kicking competition with Jake Moody with the San Francisco 49ers during training camp before the Niners released him earlier this month.
In his six-year NFL career with the Giants, Jets, Commanders, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings, Joseph has an 82.3 made-field-goal percentage and has knocked in 90.8 percent of extra points. He did not miss an extra point in 11 tries last year.
Piñeiro has spent time with four teams over his six-season NFL career but was the kicker for the Carolina Panthers each of the past three years. Piñeiro ranks third among NFL kickers in field-goal percentage (88.1 percent) and went 22 for 26 on field goals and 33 for 35 on extra points for Carolina a year ago.
There could be competition for Piñeiro’s service, since he has also visited the Miami Dolphins this week. Miami has been working out kickers after it placed Jason Sanders on injured reserve last week.
Gonzalez was the only kicker that Buffalo worked out who was not a team’s primary placekicker in 2024. He, like Joseph, spelled Austin Seibert in Washington after Seibert missed seven of its final eight games due to injury.
Gonzalez kicked for the Commanders in six games, making 5 of 7 field goals and knocking in all 19 attempted extra points. For his six-year career, Gonzalez has made 80 percent of his field goals and 95.4 percent of extra points.
Who Will Be The Bills’ Kicker Week 1?
The Bills hope it will be Bass, since they would love to keep the continuity going.
But if it isn’t Bass, Piñeiro seems the most likely option, as long as the Dolphins don’t scoop him up first.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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