Surprises were afoot at the Buffalo Bills famed “Return of the Blue and Red” practice last Friday. While energy was high in front of an Orchard Park crowd busting at the seems with fans, the practice took an unexpected twist when #22 trotted out to take attempt the point after. Kicker Tyler Bass has not practiced since Tuesday with “pelvic area soreness”, so 25-year-old running back Ray Davis seemingly self-appointed himself as the team’s emergency kicker.
“The second-year back told ‘everybody, whoever wanted to listen,’ that he was a high school kicker and showed them a video of him making a 57-yard kick. Davis hadn’t kicked since high school,” writes ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg, who was on the scene.
What came next proves that if Ray Davis tells you he can do something, you might want to believe him. His first boot sailed wide left. So Davis, being the experienced kicker he is, realigned, recalibrated, and drilled the next two.
The second one sailed in from nearly 33 yards out.
Ray Davis Post Kick Interview
First and foremost, it sounds like if Alaina Getzenberg tells you something, you should believe her too. Ray Davis began his post kick interview, that took place right on the field with the running back (or place kicker potentially) still in his pads, with the exact selling point she said the back was parading around to the staff.
“I used to kick in high school,” Davis told a few reporters with their phones tilted towards him. “So I was always telling them, ‘Hey if we ever need a guy, I could be that backup guy.’ It was fun to come out here and do it. Hopefully you’ll see me during the season. I had to go get a soccer cleat today so I could start kicking.”
Could Davis Really Be The Team’s Emergency Kicker
I’ve been on this earth a long 24 years and I feel like the emergence of the “emergency kicker” is a new phenomenon that I have enjoyed watching over the past few years. I think for most NFL fans, the first real exposure to this came with Kansas City Chiefs safety, Justin Reid, in the 2022 season.
In his first outing in 2022 came in Week 1 when Harrison Butker went down with an injury. Reid was asked to attempt two extra points, after the team had gone for two and failed on the first drive after their kicker went down. Reid nailed one of two, and since then he has totaled more than 1,000 yards and quite a few touchbacks while handling kick-off duties for his old team.
Famously, linebacker Dare Ogunbowale of the Houston Texans made a 29 yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to break a 30-30 tie with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ogunbowale remains the last non-kicker to make a field goal in a real game.
While I’m sure all Bills fans would rather see the 28-year-old stellar kicker play in all 17, it is nice to know that if things ever get testy they can shine their Ray Davis symbol in the sky and have a chance at kicking salvation.
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