Some of the most compelling moments in Hard Knocks every year come when players are released. One of the hardest cuts for the Buccaneers this season came Saturday when they released kicker Roberto Aguayo, whom they traded up to get in the second round last year.
“No one really talks about you, you know, when you make your kicks,” Aguayo says before his release. “I feel like it’s more talked about when . . . you don’t do as well.”
Aguayo became the focus of the second episode on Tuesday, and when he missed an extra point and a 47-yard field goal in the preseason opener Friday, the decision was made for the Bucs.
“It’s never easy, but it’s got to be done,” General Manager Jason Licht tells head coach Dirk Koetter on Saturday morning. “It’s such a bigger mistake to keep holding onto him. We’ve got to get behind a guy.”
Koetter says, “I think [Nick] Folk is our [expletive] kicker.”
As he arrives to the team’s training complex, Aguayo’s body language and dour expression make it clear he knows what’s coming.
“We just have to rely on you to make those kicks,” Licht explains. “We’re all relying on you, 52 other guys.”
Aguayo says his release is “understandable” adding, “I let you guys down. I let myself down.”
Before parting, Licht tells Aguayo he knows the kicker “is going to get another opportunity.” And, sure enough, the show ends with Koetter standing in front of the television in his office, watching NFL Network as it announces the Bears have claimed Aguayo off waivers.
After arriving in Chicago on Monday, Aguayo was asked about the experience of being released on reality TV.
“At the end of the day, I know the type of man I am,” Aguayo said, via Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune. “I know the integrity and what I have inside me. That doesn’t define me as a man. I’m defined by how I keep my head up and keep pushing. That’s in the past now.
“Yeah, at the time it hurt. But there’s new opportunities and I’m here now so this is my next opportunity and I’m looking forward to making the most of it.”