Buccaneers reportedly add kicker to compete with Matt Gay

After saying earlier in the week that second-year kicker Matt Gay would have some competition this year, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht wasted no time following up on that statement.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network and NFL.com, Tampa Bay has claimed Elliott Fry off waivers from the Panthers:

Fry, who played his college ball at South Carolina, got his professional start last spring, playing for the Orlando Apollos in the brief run of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). In seven games, he was a perfect 14-of-14 on field goals, going 4-of-4 on attempts between 40 and 49 yards out (per The Football Database). He didn’t attempt a kick beyond 50 yards while with the Apollos, however.

After the AAF suspended its operations, Fry signed with the Chicago Bears. He briefly competed with Eddy Pineiro during training camp and the early part of the preseason before being waived. While with Chicago in the preseason, he made a 43-yard field goal and missed a 47-yarder while making both of his extra point attempts.

Fry then joined the Ravens for the rest of the preseason before being cut again. From there, he was drafted by the XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks, though he didn’t sign with them. He instead signed a futures deal with Carolina in December.

Now, he’s headed to Tampa Bay to compete with Gay, the Bucs’ 2019 fifth-round pick. His rookie season saw mixed results, as he overcame early struggles to put together a nice run, only to sputter in Week 17. Overall, Gay converted on 27 of his 35 field goal attempts as a rookie while going 43-of-48 on extra points.

We’ll see how this kicking situation shakes out when (and if) the team is allowed to come back together for the first time in 2020. Until then, we can all look forward to yet another training camp kicking competition for the Bucs... as if we haven’t had enough of those over the years.