Roberto Aguayo fails in first public head-to-head with Nick Folk

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Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo has taken another step toward becoming former Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo.

Via JoeBucsFan.com, the second-year, second-round pick missed “at least three” of four field goal tries during a Tuesday OTA session. The good news is that the goal posts were narrower than normal. The bad news is that recently-signed veteran Nick Folk went four-for-four on the same narrow posts.

As noted by JoeBucsFan.com, practice “went silent” after Aguayo missed for the third time: “Ninety players plus coaches, many just BSing and drinking water during the kicking period, were quiet.”

For a position that ultimately will be counted on to perform under pressure, failing to perform under the pressure of the first open practice with Folk on the field won’t help Aguayo convince the Bucs to keep him around.

The outcome makes it even more likely that the Buccaneers ultimately will be paying Aguayo $428,000 to kick elsewhere than paying Folk $750,000 to make like a tree and get out of here.

22 responses to “Roberto Aguayo fails in first public head-to-head with Nick Folk

  1. A classic case of you win some, you lose some. I’m glad he won’t be kicking for us again this year. I’m sure he will bounce around for a few years and become a good kick somewhere else.

  2. I think it’s more likely they’ll be paying him $428k just to go away. Unlikely he’ll be “kicking elsewhere”.

  3. “Second-round Kicker” is something that should have never existed.

    Or 3rd…

    Or 4th…

    Or 5th…

    Maaaaaybe 6th…

    Sweet Spot 7th

  4. Honestly it will say a lot about the coaching staff if they cut him. You can look at it as a good thing they don’t care about draft status the best player will play or in a bad way that they took a bad kicke with a lot of talented players on the board still. Either way I wouldn’t cut him this year, if he doesn’t earn the job sit him until next year and if he doesn’t improve by then cut him

  5. Once again the fans were correct in questioning a 2nd round pick spent on a kicker. I get tired of hearing scouts and GMs saying the fans know nothing about football.

  6. I agree that t he will be a successful kicker eventually, even if it doesn’t happen in Tampa. His FSU success was no fluke, and unlike other positions, kicking is kicking. There’s no “translating to the NFL”.

    When he finally gets rid of “the yips”, he’ll be a very good, very consistent kicker. Hopefully that happens this year. If not, he may have to bounce around in training camp competitions a few years before he gets another full-time gig.

  7. Maybe Roberto is missing them NOW on PURPOSE so the BUCS cut or unload him. Maybe he’s TIRED of the circus in Tampa and the lack of support. I see Roberto in a New England uniform before long and have a successful 10 year career with them.

  8. Not sure I understand why people get so much enjoyment out of Aguayo failing, has been a stand-up guy even through the struggles of his early career.

  9. As soon as they signed Folk, it seemed like an outside shot for Aguayo to last. Folk hasn’t been below 80% accuracy since 2012.

  10. If you spend a 2nd rounder on a kicker he better be special. If you move up in the 2nd round to get a kicker he better be Hall Of Fame caliber. The fact that this guy has kicked like a poor undrafted free agent someone should have to answer for that. There needs to be some kind of shakeup in the Front Office after this disaster. Someone needs to go to send a message. That 2nd rounder could have been used on another weapon for Winston instead of paying 10 mill for an aging Desean Jackson or another running back to replace Doug Martin. Win some lose some, yeah i’ll buy that in the 5th, 6th, 7th rounds but you are a imbecile if you expect us to buy that logic by trading up into the 2nd round to draft a Kicker.

  11. I have been a Bucs fan for decades and have witnessed an almost uncountable number of stupid decisions, but trading up to take a kicker in the second round is the singly stupidest decision I have ever seen the team make.

  12. If the competition is even close, the edge goes to Folk. The coaching staff has to send the message that best players will play, and that every position is a competition.

    I would like to see Aguayo turn it around and become a successful NFL kicker. His best chance to do that is not likely to be in Tampa.

    Mike Mamula was a good-not-great DE who was famously over-drafted by the Eagles. He had a decent career, but was never able to match the expectation that came with being a first-round pick. This situation is likely to be just as bad for the Bucs and Aguayo.

    The best outcome would be for Folk to win the job outright. That fits the “best players play” philosophy, will be supported by the team, and allows Aguayo to “re-boot” his career in another city.

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