Here’s another reason why kids should quit trying to run with a football and learn instead how to kick it.
Kicker John Kasay joined the NFL in 1991. He’s now under contract, at age 42, to spend a 22nd season playing pro football.
Kasay has signed a one-year deal with the Saints. The team announced the move on Monday.
He entered the league as a fourth-round draft pick of the Seahawks. Kasay then joined the Panthers in their inaugural season of 1995, spending 16 years in Charlotte. Kasay became the Saints kicker in 2011, making 63 of 63 extra points and 28 of 34 field goals, including a long of 53 yards.
Kasay replaced Garrett Hartley last season, who landed on injured reserve with a hip injury. Hartley is signed through 2015. If he’s healthy, it’s unlikely that Kasay will win a spot on the 53-man roster.
But it nevertheless provides Kasay with a context for staying in shape and preparing for the 2012 season. If/when he’s cut by the Saints, he’ll be ready to sign with any other team that may need him.
And that’s more than plenty of veteran running backs can say.