As a second-round draft pick in 2016, Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo was handed a roster spot even though he didn’t earn it. But there’s bad news for Aguayo heading into 2017: Next season, he has to earn it.
Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said on Monday that there are no regrets about the unusual decision to trade up in the second round and draft a kicker, but next year that kicker is going to have to prove he belongs.
“As far as the investment in Roberto and where we picked him, we were all on board with that,” Koetter said. “That’s not going to change. We’re never going to bring that back. That happened, and Roberto was our kicker and like any other player, if he’s got that Buc jersey on and he’s out there on game day, I’m 100 percent in. With that said, our field-goal percentage this year was not good enough. That’s not the only stat that’s not good enough.”
Saying Aguayo was not good enough is an understatement: His field goal rate of 71 percent was the worst in the NFL among kickers who lasted the whole season. Aguayo’s longest field goal was just 43 yards, a distance that every team’s kicker exceeded -- and two teams had two different kickers who made field goals longer than 43 yards. And Aguayo missed two extra points as well.
With all that in mind, Koetter made clear that Aguayo’s job is on the line.
“I think it’s already proven that we have no problem moving on from a draft choice and playing somebody that wasn’t drafted,” Koetter said. “We’ve got to have competition at every position. Nothing’s a given. If they’re not the best player, then I feel pretty certain in saying they won’t be out there.”
So for Aguayo, it’s shape up or ship out.