Indianapolis Colts waive kicker Rodrigo Blankenship after miscues in season opener

INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts have made their resolution.

Indianapolis is waiving kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, an individual with information of the scenario confirmed to IndyStar, after the third-year kicker missed a game-winning, 42-yard area aim try on Sunday and despatched two kickoffs out of bounds in crunch time, costing the Colts valuable area place.

The individual requested anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to debate the transfer publicly. The NFL Community first reported the transfer.

Indianapolis is signing former Colts kicker Chase McLaughlin and rookie Lucas Havrisik to the follow squad, an individual with information of the strikes advised IndyStar on Tuesday, and can doubtless elevate one to the lively roster earlier than Sunday’s recreation towards the Jaguars in Jacksonville.

Blankenship, who had crushed out Jake Verity to open the season with the beginning job for the third consecutive yr, opened his Colts profession with a promising rookie yr, then suffered a hip harm and missed three kicks towards Baltimore final season, prompting Indianapolis to depart Blankenship on injured reserve even after he acquired wholesome.

Colts head coach Frank Reich indicated a transfer may be approaching Monday, stopping in need of saying he nonetheless had unshakable confidence in Blankenship.

“In the event you play lengthy sufficient, you’re going to have a nasty day, or dangerous days. Your confidence goes to waver. It’s the way you reply to that, and it’s everyone, there’s no exception,” Reich stated. “Clearly, as we consider that and the way we really feel about it, you think about all these issues, after which it’s a query of hey, man had a nasty day, can he bounce again? Do we’ve the endurance for a man to bounce again? These are the belongings you assume by way of and discuss by way of.”

Reich and normal supervisor Chris Ballard met twice Monday.

The Colts favored Blankenship sufficient to offer him a number of possibilities over three seasons.

“Rod has been fairly constant so far,” particular groups coordinator Bubba Ventrone stated. “He didn’t have an awesome efficiency, clearly, within the recreation. He mishit two balls on kickoffs, after which the miss on the finish of the sport. I feel Rod is an efficient kicker.”

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However consistency turned a problem on the finish of Blankenship’s rookie season.

Blankenship made 30 of his first 33 kicks within the NFL, however he missed two area objectives within the finale of his rookie season, then missed a important 33-yard try within the playoffs towards Buffalo. Introduced again due to the promise he’d proven as a rookie, Blankenship injured his hip towards Baltimore, missed three kicks towards the Ravens and went on injured reserve.

Indianapolis caught with veteran Michael Badgley even after Blankenship returned, a sign the crew had questions concerning the younger kicker. Blankenship all the time struggled from distance, making simply 3 of 8 makes an attempt from 46 yards or extra in three seasons.

The consistency contained in the 45 faltered.

Starting with that season finale, Blankenship made 16 of 23 area objectives, or 69.5 p.c, the final miss approaching that 42-yard try with a win on the road towards Houston this weekend.

“It didn’t really feel nice coming off my foot,” Blankenship stated. “I simply didn’t make contact how I needed to. I didn’t actually hit the ball sq. and had type of a lazy follow-through.”

Blankenship’s two botched kickoffs additionally performed an element, an afterthought that turned an actual consideration when punter and kickoff specialist Rigoberto Sanchez tore his Achilles tendon throughout coaching camp.

Matt Haack, the punter the Colts signed to fill in for Sanchez, will not be a kickoff specialist, and Indianapolis wants consistency within the kickoff recreation.

“It’s a luxurious to have a punter who kicks off and kicks off in addition to Rigo,” Ventrone stated. “Again to Rod and his improvement on kickoffs, he has completed a fairly good job. … We’ve completed an excellent job of getting his kickoffs to a degree the place we had been comfy enjoying him in a recreation like that.”

However Blankenship faltered in each duties when the Colts wanted it most on Sunday, and the crew determined to make a transfer.

A whirlwind of a rookie season in the end introduced McLaughlin to Indianapolis to alleviate an injured and ineffective Adam Vinatieri on the finish of the 2019 season. McLaughlin made 5 of 6 area objectives and all 11 additional factors for the Colts within the last 4 video games that season, incomes a shot on the full-time job in 2020.

Satirically, McLaughlin misplaced a coaching camp competitors to Blankenship in 2020, sending him criss-crossing the NFL once more after kicking for 5 completely different groups — three as an harm substitute within the common season — as a rookie.

McLaughlin made 4 of 5 area objectives and 5 of 6 additional factors in stints with the Jaguars and Jets in 2020, then took over as Cleveland’s kicker early within the 2021 season and made 15 of 21 area objectives, together with 36 of 37 additional factors.

The Browns reduce McLaughlin in Could after spending a fourth-round decide on rookie kicker Cade York.

The opposite competitor now within the Colts locker room remains to be in search of his first area aim of any form within the NFL.

Havrisik, an undrafted rookie out of Arizona, tried out on the Colts’ rookie minicamp in Could, however the crew in the end determined to stay with a contest between Blankenship and former Ravens kicker Jake Verity, a contest Blankenship gained handily.

The rookie made simply 64.2% of his kicks in school — his greatest season was 85.7% in 2020 — however he has a powerful leg. Arizona used Havrisik as its lengthy kick and kickoff specialist in 2021.

This text initially appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis Colts waive kicker Rodrigo Blankenship; open competitors