Detailing the well-traveled road of new Broncos kicker Elliott Fry

The Denver Broncos have a new kicker and he is one that has worn many different jerseys in his professional career. After coming to the decision to move on from veteran kicker Brandon McManus, the Broncos signed Elliott Fry earlier this week.

It was a bit of a curious decision to see the team go in this direction but Sean Payton is an experienced coach who is not afraid to make some tough calls.

Fry has bounced all over the football map since coming out of college.

Born in Frisco, Texas, Fry kicked at South Carolina in college from 2013-16. He made 66 of his 88 field-goal attempts for the Gamecocks (75 percent) and hit all but one of his 162 PATs. He still went undrafted coming out of college and his first pro opportunity wasn't even in the NFL.

Orlando Apollos

Fry was with the Orlando Apollos playing in the Alliance of American Football in 2019. He made all 14 of the field goals he attempted but the league suspended operations after eight weeks and never returned.

Chicago Bears

His performance in the AAF led to his first NFL gig with the Chicago Bears signing him in April 2019.

The Bears had gone 12-4 the previous season but their Super Bowl aspirations came crashing down when Cody Parkey's infamous "double doink" kick against the Philadelphia Eagles occurred. During the offseason, the Bears moved on from Parkey and brought in several kickers to potentially replace him.

Fry was among those names but after making three out of four field goals during the preseason, he was released in favor of Eddy Pineiro.

Baltimore Ravens

Right after being released by the Bears, Fry was signed by the Baltimore Ravens to finish out the preseason. However, that was just to serve as a "camp leg" because there was no way he was beating out Justin Tucker for the job.

Right after this, Fry was selected in the 2020 XFL Draft by the St. Louis BattleHawks. However, he never signed with the team.

Carolina Panthers

Fry was signed to a futures deal by the Panthers following the 2019 season but was waived right after the draft that year, never even making it to a preseason kicking competition.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs claimed Fry off waivers right after being let go by Carolina and he spent the preseason there. But just before the regular season started, he was let go as the team chose instead to go with veteran Ryan Succup, who was looking for a new job after being released by the Tennessee Titans that offseason.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons are the team that Fry has lasted the longest with and though he has had three separate stints on their practice squad, he was able to make his regular-season debut with them in October 2020. He made a 23-yard field goal in that game but also missed an extra point.

Kansas City Chiefs

After bouncing around between being on the Falcons' practice squad and being a street free agent, Fry was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs in December 2021 when Harrison Butker got a bit banged up. He was again elevated to the main roster for one game while there.

In that game, he made two of his three field-goal attempts but again missed an extra point. He was released following that game as it was determined Butker could get back on the field.

Green Bay Packers

This was one of those "why even bother" moves. Fry was signed by the Packers on January 1, 2022 despite Mason Crosby being on the roster. He was released two days later.

Cincinnati Bengals

The next day, he was signed to the practice squad of the Cincinnati Bengals and was elevated to the active roster for one game. He made a 36-yard field goal and his only extra-point attempt in that game. The Bengals let him go at the end of January 2022.

Arizona Cardinals

Fry was signed by the Cardinals in January following the conclusion of their 2022 season but the team released him on May 15 before he even had a chance to enter into any kind of kicking competition, much like his time in Carolina.

The Cardinals have former Broncos kicker Matt Prater on the roster and clearly felt there was no reason to move forward with Fry, which made him available for the Broncos.

Denver Broncos

The Broncos signed Fry after an open competition also involving Brett Maher and Parker White. Though finding better options at this stage of the offseason will be no easy task, the Broncos are quite likely not completely sold on Fry being the guy when Week 1 kicks off and other options are going to be considered.