It’s the post you’ve all been waiting for! Time to break down the Las Vegas Raiders’ long snapper, punter and kicker!
In all seriousness, it was an interesting year for this group because it was basically a role reversal from the previous season. In 2018, the kicking was trending up and the punting was trending down — but 2019 is the exact opposite.
Under Contract: A.J. Cole
Free Agents: Trent Sieg (ERFA), Daniel Carlson (ERFA)
I’d expect all three of these guys to be back next season — at least in training camp. I think Sieg is probably safe in his role (the fact that many people haven’t heard his name shows you how well he has done his job), but Carlson can expect some competition.
Long-Snapper
Sieg is 24 years old, he’s 6’3″ and 240 pounds. As I typed this, I learned more about Sieg than I did before I came to write this article. Beyond that, he’s really good at his job and very well could be a Raider for the next decade.
Punter
Cole was an undrafted free agent brought in to compete with Johnny Townsend, the team’s fifth-round pick from 2018. Townsend was a disaster in 2018, but many expected him to get one more shot at punting in 2019. Then Cole came in and dominated training camp, giving the Raiders some real consistency in 2019.
Cole tied for the 12th-best punting average in the league (46.0), was fifth with 30 punts that landed inside the 20 and had the third-longest punt of the year at 74 yards. If not for his coverage team’s inability to prevent decent returns (the Raiders gave up the highest return average in the league), Cole’s net average would have been even more impressive.
Kicker
A fifth-round pick of the Vikings in 2018, Carlson lasted just two games into his rookie season before being cut thanks to a 1-for-4 mark. A few weeks later he was picked up by the Raiders, where he finished out his rookie year going 16-for-17 on field goals and 18-for-18 on extra points.
Heading into 2019, it felt like the Raiders had found their kicker of the future. But then 2019 happened.
This past season, Carlson was just 19-for-26 on field goals — a mark which gave the Raiders the 27th-best field goal percentage in the league. He was 34-for-36 on extra points (which put him right around league average), but overall it was a shaky season. On field goals over 40 yards, he finished just 6-for-12, including 0-for-2 beyond 50.
Overall
Cole and Sieg are names to get used to, but Carlson will have to earn his way back into the good graces of Jon Gruden if he wants to play in Vegas. It’s clear he has it in him to be an NFL kicker, it’s just a question of whether or not he can regain his confidence and put it all together.
