Denver Broncos must bring another kicker to training camp

On May 23rd, the Denver Broncos released kicker Brandon McManus, after being the team's starting kicker since 2014. McManus was the last remaining player from the Super Bowl 50 champions roster. Following the McManus release, the Broncos signed Elliott Fry, a kicker that has been a part of more NFL teams (10 excluding the Broncos), than the number of field goal attempts he has over his career (6). I'm not saying that he is a bad kicker, just to clarify, it's just an interesting stat regarding Fry.

As I mentioned before, Brandon McManus had been the Broncos' kicker since 2014, and in 144 games, he had 274 field goal attempts, making 81.4% of those, and 286 extra point attempts, making 96.9% of them. McManus will always be in the team's record books, as he was the last remaining member of the Super Bowl 50 roster, and he has the second-most points scored in Broncos history (946) just behind Jason Elam, who scored 1,786 points for the team.

Elliott Fry, who the Broncos signed after the Brandon McManus release, has a total of six field goal attempts during his career. He went undrafted coming out of college, and two years later he was signed by the Chicago Bears. Statistically, Fry has made five out of six field goal attempts (83.3%) and has made five out of seven extra point attempts (71.43%). In college, he made 66/88 field goals (75%), and 161/162 extra points (99.4).

I think that due to Fry's lack of NFL experience, the Denver Broncos should bring another kicker at least to establish a competition during training camp. Fry has played in NFL games, but just in three, which is a few to be a starting kicker in the league. His longest field goal is 44 yards and has yet to attempt a 50+ yarder. The 44-yard one is his longest attempt too.

There are still some free agent kickers on the market that the Broncos should take a look at ...

Instant Starter:

These are guys that in my opinion can immediately become the team's starting kicker ...

1. Robbie Gould: Gould has been one of the best kickers in the league in the past few years. He is a free agent after his contract with the 49ers finished and they did not re-sign him. Last season he went 27 for 32 in field goal attempts, and from the 32 attempts, he made two out of two from 50+ yards.

Should be the starter, but has to earn it:

1. Mason Crosby: Crosby, like McManus, was a long-tenured player on his team (Packers). Like Gould, Crosby's contract finished and the team signed/drafted other guys at the position. He had a good season in Green Bay last year, making 25 out of 29 field goals.

2. Ryan Succop: A Super Bowl champion kicker is still in the market. He has been a very decent kicker in the past couple of seasons. The concern with him is that he has only made three out of his 10 last 50+ yard attempts.

3. Randy Bullock: Similar to Succop, Bullock has been very decent in the past couple of seasons, but as well, has struggled with 50+ yard attempts, he has made 8 out of 15 since 2018. He made 42 out of his 51 attempts during the past two seasons. He actually worked out for the Broncos on a tryout basis this Summer.

4. Brett Maher: A Sean Payton familiar face, as he played for the Saints a few years ago. Last year with Dallas, he only missed three field goals, making 29 out of 32, and was 9 out of 11 from 50+. He struggled in the Playoffs, as he became the first kicker to miss four extra points in a single game, and missed another one during Dallas' second game.

Can compete with Fry for the job:

1. Quinn Nordin: Nordin was named the Patriots' starting kicker, but got injured before the start of the 2021-22 season. Was on the practice squad last season but got waived. In college, he had a 72.4 field goal percentage.

2. Parker White: White was one of the kickers that Denver had as tryout players. Apparently, he lost the kicking battle with rookie Anders Carlson in Green Bay earlier this year. He is the South Carolina Gamecocks' all-time scoring leader.

3. Taylor Russolino: Russolino was the Broncos kicker during a game against the Buffalo Bills in 2021, after McManus tested positive for Covid-19. He made 1 out of 3 extra points and missed his only field goal attempt. Last season, he made the XFL's longest field goal in history (58 yards)

There are other 2023 undrafted free agents that could also compete with Fry, but I think that Denver should bring a veteran guy, an experienced guy.