The NFL's beloved "nerd" is now a free agent, what are possible landing spots for kicker Rodrigo Bla

Publish date: 2024-06-14

Rodrigo Blankenship enamored the NFL in 2020. The kicker that was a walk-on at the University of Georgia, hit 86.5% of his field-goals and proved that 'nerdy' players have a place in the National Football League. On his free time and leisure, Rodrigo would build Lego sets, and for work: he would nail footballs through the uprights. Especially in 2020, his marquee NFL season.

In 2021, a viral post depicting a lanky Blankenship next to Seahawks receiver D.K. Metcalf broke the internet. The post gathered more than 160 thousand likes and said the following statement: "I love the NFL because both of these humans play the same sport professionally".

The tweet made its way to both players, of course, and Blankenship then made it a point to meet and snap a pic with Metcalf when the Colts hosted Seattle: "Yes, we both play the same sport. And yes, we're both pretty dang good at it". The post once again became an online sensation.

What are the possible landing spots for Rodrigo Blankenship?

It's likely that Blankenship will remain an NFL free agent for some time, due to only having one solid NFL season under his belt. In 2021 he suffered several injuries and could only kick in 5 games all season. He had regained a starting position in 2022 with the Colts, but his 42-yard miss in OT against the Texans, which would have won then the game, sealed his fate.

The teams with unstable kicking situation which would give a tryout to Rodrigo Blankenship are: the Bears (where Cairo Santos made only 1 of 3 XPs in week 1), the Panthers (if unproven Eddy Pineiro doesn't pan out), and the Steelers (if Chris Boswell continues his inconsistent kicking).

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