Buccaneers sign kicker Rodrigo Blankenship

The quarterback competition isn’t the only starting job players will be fighting for in training camp. After a mini-camp tryout, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed former Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals kicker Rodrigo Blankenship.

Blankenship was cut by the Colts last season after struggling - which was a result of his leg injury - and he will now get another chance with the Bucs as he competes with Chase McLaughlin for the starting kicker job.

Blankenship doesn’t have the strongest leg - just 2-for-5 from 50+ yards in his career but he’s 95.6% on extra points and 86.5% on his field goals over his career.

With Dave Canales running the offense, the Bucs may be more prone to go for it on fourth down in that 50-60 yard field goal range - more so than last season as you could find it easy to believe there were some trust issues between Todd Bowles and then offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich in those situations in 2022. The range may not play as big of a role in deciding who the kicker will be, rather this will boil down to accuracy from inside 50-yards.

For more on this and all things Tampa Bay Buccaneers, check out the Locked On Bucs Podcast with James Yarcho and David Harrison