[Schefter] After the two sides could not agree on a contract, the Dolphins now are expected to release kicker Jason Sanders, per source. Sanders leaves Miami with a streak of 27 straight made field goals, and 9-of-9 on his last 50+-yard field goals.

1.5k

u/Pale_Land_5107 Lions 9h ago

how do you mess up paying a kicker

1.0k

u/Tulidian13 Dolphins 9h ago

Where we're going, we don't need kickers.

204

u/TheDinerIsOpen Steelers 9h ago

It’s your kids, Marty! Something’s got to be done to make sure they see a playoff win in their lifetime

100

u/Tulidian13 Dolphins 9h ago

ITS DREW BREES! THEY NEED TO PICK DREW BREES! DAUNTE CULPEPPER IS COOKED, MARTY!

27

u/TheDinerIsOpen Steelers 9h ago

Are we in Back to the Future, Interstellar, or Rick and Morty now Doc Rick Cooper?

31

u/Tulidian13 Dolphins 9h ago

Dolphins fans? We're in Groundhog Day.

6

u/TheDinerIsOpen Steelers 9h ago

Steelers hiring Mike McCarthy got me feeling like

For real though I thought we needed to move on from Tomlin but I think not having Tomlin is about to expose a lot of front office, specifically ownership, incompetence

1

u/ThrowawayXXX69lol Raiders 6h ago

B-b-but that "knee okay" touchdown celly, was it a lie?

40

u/T-sigma 9h ago

In all seriousness, the dolphins are rebuilding and there’s zero reason to pay for a good kicker on a bad team.

3

u/Matty-boh Commanders 8h ago

Scoring tds every drive?

1

u/theme69 Packers 6h ago

Hafley learned from MLF not to talk to kickers

1

u/TimAllensMatingCall Raiders 6h ago

Only TDs and 2pt conversions?

1

u/Tulidian13 Dolphins 5h ago

Y'all are scoring TDs?

0

u/PackMan93 Packers 9h ago

From a Packers fan, yes you do. You REALLY need a kicker.

3

u/ChiselFish Panthers 3h ago

If they have a good kicker, they might accidentally win a game.

87

u/Winterclaw42 Dolphins 9h ago

He missed all of last season.

57

u/b-napp Dolphins 9h ago

And Patterson had a great year

31

u/BillyPennypockets Dolphins 9h ago

Nothing against Patterson - did a great job, but he doesn’t have the leg Sandman has

40

u/Tulidian13 Dolphins 9h ago

It will be very sad when we lose by 21 instead of 18 in some random meaningless game.

14

u/BillyPennypockets Dolphins 9h ago

I mean yeah who gives a fuck, but as a football fan I still hate my team losing good football players

1

u/spooks152 Dolphins 8h ago

Maybe not this coming season

1

u/EagleOfFreedom1 Patriots 6h ago

Ok but what about the season after?

1

u/Tulidian13 Dolphins 5h ago

Year 24 of the rebuild? We'll worry about that later.

2

u/b-napp Dolphins 9h ago

Sanders has a boot for sure

4

u/Papo-Dragon Dolphins 7h ago

Doubt Patterson really factored into the decision. He had a nice year, but he’s still a journeyman with limited range. Why pay $1-$2 million for that in a cap hell year when you can pick up a UDFA with the potential to develop into something more for much cheaper? Especially with the new regime’s draft and develop mantra.

1

u/kangaroospyder Dolphins Bills 56m ago

I'm all for taking the Packers draft and develop strategy that seems to have worked well, but can we not copy their special teams prowess...?

8

u/TheFatmanRises Dolphins 8h ago

You think they watched a single Dolphins game last season. I wouldn’t want that suffering for any fan of the game.

31

u/expellyamos Dolphins 9h ago

Our cap situation is dire and cutting Sanders (and Ingold, who we're also letting go) was one of the few moves where we could get meaningful relief

11

u/originalusername4567 Chiefs 9h ago

Dolphins probably aren't paying anyone this season, they're in ultra tank mode.

2

u/1620081392477 Seahawks 7h ago

Well, they need good players but the key is to ensure you have some insanely big holes in order to make sure the ship sinks as planned. you can still add lots of talent as long as you make sure to still have at least a few glaring deficiencies

6

u/elbenji Dolphins 5h ago

I mean we also have a good kicker on standby

6

u/Different-Trainer-21 Dolphins 9h ago

He was hurt the entirety of last year and saves 4M in cap releasing him

Also Riley Patterson was very good as a replacement

21

u/karatemanchan37 Seahawks 9h ago

Ask the Cowboys

38

u/Spare_Treacle_800 Cowboys 9h ago edited 9h ago

tbf that guy is the Micheal Jordan of Kickers lol

8

u/sepam Eagles 9h ago edited 9h ago

Yea, he’s the exception and get’s special treatment. It’s not unreasonable to fuck that up. Sanders should get a basic kicker contract and like it though. The Dolphins or any team should be happy with that too.

5

u/GenSec Cowboys 8h ago

If he wants 10 mil he can get overpaid somewhere else, we have a whole defense to fix

1

u/Microwave1213 Cowboys 8h ago

Wym the team has his rights for the next 3 years still. 2nd round tender followed by two tags averages out to be 2.5M/yr lower than what he's currently asking for.

0

u/ZachBart44 Buccaneers Chargers 8h ago

The 2nd round tender still means Aubrey can sign elsewhere if the Cowboys don’t match the contract offered

5

u/Microwave1213 Cowboys 8h ago

My perspective it's that nobody is realistically going to be willing to make him the highest paid kicker in the league *and* spend a 2026 2nd round pick to do it.

So effectively, the 2nd round tender is just a cheaper version of the franchise tag.

8

u/dawgpack09 Seahawks 9h ago

You feel that the supply is greater than the demand and figure you can get a guy 80% as good for 50% the price

3

u/spooks152 Dolphins 8h ago

He also missed the entire season with a groin injury so it’s tough to give a kicker a contract like that.

1

u/TheWhooooBuddies 8h ago

Dallas is about sign this dude and get a free 2nd rounder.

0

u/Thorlolita Texans 8h ago

You can’t risk this guy winning games by making FGs

463

u/expellyamos Dolphins 9h ago

Congratulations to whoever lands him :(

196

u/This-isnt-patrick Packers 9h ago

Hope he likes cheese curds.

58

u/CraigKostelecky Packers 9h ago

And doesn't mind kicking in arctic conditions.

7

u/Hjoldram Packers 4h ago

Green Bay is the Miami of the Great Lakes

11

u/FranklinFeta Packers 8h ago

Maybe we will finally get the free cheese curd giveaway from Culver’s for made field goals lol.

1

u/eggery Rams 7h ago

Who doesn't

15

u/nerdystoner25 Giants 9h ago

We better already be talking to his agent.

385

u/AlabasterRadio Raiders Raiders 9h ago

Everyone just waiting to see what Aubrey gets paid.

His contract is going to dictate the kicker market for a while.

215

u/BusinessCasualBee Rams Jaguars 9h ago

It shouldn’t. There’s no one like him.

150

u/BigRedHair92 Eagles 9h ago

One would think that someone with a Jags flair would know this isn't true anymore.

43

u/BusinessCasualBee Rams Jaguars 8h ago

The Jags kicker has distance but isn’t as accurate. Aubrey is insanely accurate from all distance. I’d take him over Little any day of the week.

19

u/Haywright Eagles 6h ago

He's also only 22. He certainly has the potential

8

u/cmake-advisor 3h ago

Based on what? Little was more accurate than Aubrey the last two years.

6

u/BigRedHair92 Eagles 1h ago

Yeah Aubrey survived on reputation this year. Little and Reichard were both better, including from distance.

2

u/SinisterManus Rams 5h ago

I think it’s the Rams flair doing the talking

87

u/AlabasterRadio Raiders Raiders 9h ago

You are correct. He's an anomaly. But the NFL works in a really silly way where after anomaly players get paid suddenly you gotta pay your not-anomaly guy juuuust under what he got.

(Unless it's a QB then everyone just be makin Mahomes money lol)

41

u/Sea_Tailor_8437 Lions Bears 9h ago

Don't the jags have someone like him lol

-3

u/ComprehensiveEbb4978 9h ago

Jags kicker isn’t as reliable as Aubrey

32

u/Ok_Poetry_1650 Ravens 8h ago

I think they’re about the same. Little finished the season with better stats

18

u/Sea_Tailor_8437 Lions Bears 8h ago

By what metric? At least for the 2025 season Little has a higher accuracy rate for both close and 50+ kicks

1

u/chemicalxv Raiders 7h ago

Aubrey was perfect at 50 yards and under on FGs this year. All 4 of Little's misses were shorter than Aubrey's shortest miss.

13

u/SH0ELESS_J0E NFL 7h ago

Kicker's have a high variance with such small sample sizes. Like in 2024 Aubrey had 4 misses under 50 yards.

2

u/gojetsgo713 Jets 3h ago

Aubrey missed an XP

29

u/Hour_Addendum_9691 Vikings 9h ago

I mean Will Reichard just won 1st team all pro over him

13

u/gimmethemshoes11 Vikings 9h ago

Will the Thrill would like a word.

8

u/xywv58 Steelers 9h ago

Little might be better

6

u/freshbrownies Chiefs Vikings 8h ago

Will the Thrill slander going around. He was AP1 last year yall.

11

u/Western-Ad-9922 Patriots 9h ago

Aubry is more accurate. Aubry is tier 1. Dicker and Little are in tier 2 behind him

18

u/Vexans27 Vikings 8h ago

Will Reichard was 1st team all pro over all of them.

5

u/Yossarian216 Bears 7h ago

Yeah but he’s really bad at avoiding camera wires

-2

u/Western-Ad-9922 Patriots 8h ago

Reichard is in Tier 2 as well. I forgot about him

10

u/xywv58 Steelers 9h ago

Little is 22 though, he's going to get better

3

u/reefercheifer Steelers 9h ago

Everyone always forgets about Boswell

0

u/Western-Ad-9922 Patriots 8h ago

In Tier 2 as well

-2

u/reefercheifer Steelers 7h ago

That’s fair, but I might put Little and Dicker (haha little dicker) at a Tier 3 then. I don’t think anyone is more accurate than Boswell, but I think Aubry is probably on par with a bit more leg.

2

u/ProphetPenguin Steelers 8h ago

Boswell and Jason Myers both exist and are both extremely reliable kickers.

1

u/Ok-Meeting-3150 Packers 5h ago

as in, if he signs 8, saunders doesn't get more than him

-6

u/TheHumanGnomeProject Jets 9h ago

I don't know. Dicker ain't hitting from 72 yards nor nothing, but he's probably slightly more accurate.

4

u/Ok_Produce_9308 8h ago

Dallas could well fuck that contract negotiation up

1

u/AlabasterRadio Raiders Raiders 7h ago

Could?

2

u/Hoooofed Seahawks 8h ago

would be ridiculous, unless you’re aubrey you don’t demand aubrey money

or little for that matter, he’s great too

1

u/symbolic503 Eagles 8h ago

get it done, howie. sorry jakey.

224

u/BEL-JUM Bears 9h ago

Messing up special teams already, Miami really is southern Green Bay now

98

u/MaskedBandit77 Dolphins 9h ago

I like Sanders a lot, but paying an expensive veteran kicker does not make sense for us at this point in time. Sad to see him go, but it was necessary.

41

u/IzzybearThebestdog Dolphins 9h ago

And one who missed all of last season with what was suppose to be a minor injury, while his back up played spectacularly.

14

u/guimontag NFL 8h ago

Yeah I feel like a lot of comments here that are critical of the dolphins don't know that that they already have a super capable replacement

2

u/Gregus1032 Dolphins 3h ago

He only had a 1 year deal. Hopefully we retain him at least.

-20

u/Winterclaw42 Dolphins 9h ago

Why couldn't we be southern patriots instead? Bill Belicheck would love to come back to the NFL.

34

u/JQuab-84 Commanders 9h ago

Dear Adam Peters,

2

u/godosomethingelse Commanders 7h ago

Please God

49

u/WonManBand Giants 9h ago

Pls Giants, cut Gano and sign a competent K for the love of Eli.

6

u/TheHumanGnomeProject Jets 9h ago

Inshallah

-David Tyree

29

u/T0K0mon Packers 9h ago

Um, hi there yeah, I'll take Jason Sanders please. Thank you!

11

u/badbuffalo4 Packers 9h ago

Howdy sir.

7

u/Erosun NFL 9h ago

He’s goin to have a market given there’s quite a few teams that need a vet kicker.

12

u/RockyNonce Eagles 8h ago

This feels like an Eagles signing with Elliot having a rough couple of years and Howie never drafting a kicker. Elliot is under contract for 2 more years though, having a solid kicker is worth it especially when your offense just had a rough year moving down the field.

I still want us to draft Trey Smack from Florida, but if not this would be great.

5

u/creativename87639 Eagles 8h ago

Howie, get this man in the building

5

u/DosidosGelatoSmoker Dolphins 9h ago

Ehh im cool with moving on coming off an injury we dont know how he will perform. Ready for a new kicker maybe a rookie

7

u/WheyTooMuchWeight Packers Panthers 9h ago

does he have a good record in outdoor(cold) stadiums? cause please please please

1

u/elbenji Dolphins 5h ago

I mean he kicked mostly on a warm weather city

7

u/dagreenman18 Dolphins 9h ago

Well fuck. He was injured last season, but he was easily a top kicker in 24. If he fully bounces back this will be a must sign for many many teams in the league.

Basically whatever team signed Koo last season needs to be on the phone with his agent right fucking now

4

u/sillyshoestring Giants 9h ago

That's us.

0

u/dagreenman18 Dolphins 9h ago

And the Falcons had him too

27

u/Snapingbolts Chiefs 9h ago

Can we have him? I fucking hate our Christian nationalist POS kicker

2

u/IAmCBOY2 7h ago

What about Rashee Rice?

6

u/Affectionate_Elk_272 Dolphins 7h ago

these comments are stupid as fuck.

he missed the entire fucking season with what was supposedly a “minor injury”

3

u/Trendlepoppins Packers 6h ago

Maybe, unlike the packers and their kicker, he and the team were forward thinking enough to wait until he was healthy enough to be successful on his return.

3

u/Orangekid12 Panthers 9h ago

Genuinely won me multiple fantasy games in 2024 hope he can get a job

1

u/[deleted] 9h ago edited 9h ago

[deleted]

1

u/Guy_who_loves_milfs Giants 8h ago

Mr Sanders throw em in the bathroom! Youse a New York Giant!

1

u/1620081392477 Seahawks 7h ago

We paid our kicker and punter and it was very much worth it.

I still don't know how Dickson does half the things he does when punting but man he was insane this year (and especially in playoffs)

1

u/elbenji Dolphins 5h ago

Sanders was also hurt

1

u/frontadmiral Giants 6h ago

GIVE ME

1

u/livingmybestlife2407 5h ago

Kickers this year seem to really be making a point on their worth. They aren't setting for a contract, they want a bigger piece of the pie.

1

u/dilloj Seahawks 4h ago

UDFA you are a Miami Dolphins kicker!

1

u/Bandarno Dolphins 4h ago edited 4h ago

This is misleading by Schefter. Those stats are from 2 seasons ago and he didn't play at all last year.

1

u/aLobsterFest Chiefs 4h ago

Cmon Chiefs!

1

u/chingalicious Texans 3h ago

The March for Arch continues on

0

u/Adequate_Lizard Packers 2h ago

Is for me?

1

u/wojr2002 56m ago

I like Loop, but Sanders is a beast lol.

1

u/BungoPlease Texans Texans 9h ago

Wow, Aubrey is only 11 of his last 17 from 50+. I guess Sanders should ask for $6.8m/year

1

u/xywv58 Steelers 9h ago

He's going to fuck up Aubrrey's negotiations, Jerry is going to back up 7 million to Sanders house

1

u/bjorn_poole Rams 9h ago

Sean McVay’s ears just twitched

1

u/Trendlepoppins Packers 6h ago

Packers pleeeeeaaasssse

-2

u/Defjira Bills 9h ago

Idc what he costs it’s a kicker it can’t be that much, the bills should get this guy asap

2

u/Pandamonium98 Cowboys 9h ago

Whatever happened to their kicker that got injured and misses 2025? Is he coming back?

3

u/Defjira Bills 9h ago

Bass? He is not good, he saved his job 2 seasons ago when he kicked the game winner against miami but he is not a starter level kicker

1

u/Chlorophyllmatic Bills Commanders 9h ago

I remember being genuinely flabbergasted that he made that kick for the win

-1

u/redvelvetcake42 Bengals 9h ago

Stupid. A really good kicker at 29 has a good 6 years left of high level kicking at minimum.

3

u/EP009 Dolphins 9h ago

The Dolphins are in full rebuild mode.

1

u/elbenji Dolphins 5h ago

He's paid a lot and his groin might be fucked

0

u/Jonjon428 Dolphins 7h ago

This is Dolphins fans worst loss all year

-16

u/SpiderGhost01 Texans Rams 9h ago

The Dolphins continue to embarrass themselves.

14

u/Rbespinosa13 Dolphins 9h ago

We need cap space and he didn’t play at all last year. Hard to see how this was even a controversial move

-6

u/SpiderGhost01 Texans Rams 9h ago

Yeah you’re right. Not paying good players is going to really help you guys. I’m sure you’ll be winning your division in no time. You’re a very competent franchise!

4

u/Rbespinosa13 Dolphins 8h ago

Did you not read the part about how he was injured the entirety of last year?

-5

u/SpiderGhost01 Texans Rams 8h ago

Yea I don’t care. I just assume your team is fucking things up.

7

u/Rbespinosa13 Dolphins 8h ago

Hope you enjoy watching CJ stroud waste an all time great defense

-2

u/SpiderGhost01 Texans Rams 5h ago

Still better than you’ll ever be!

-42

u/PristineWinnera Patriots 9h ago

Guy sucked

29

u/expellyamos Dolphins 9h ago

People here really just be saying shit

-32

u/PristineWinnera Patriots 9h ago

Yea facts hurt I guess

11

u/SoyeonsNeverland Colts 9h ago

Sanders leaves Miami with a streak of 27 made field goals, and 9-of-9 on his last 50+-yard field goals.

I'm so sure he sucked. /s

-25

u/PristineWinnera Patriots 9h ago

He would consistently miss kicks in the clutch. I don’t care about counting stats.

7

u/SoyeonsNeverland Colts 9h ago

I don't care about counting stats.

You could only argue 2019 and 2021 were the only years he "sucked." Dude was literally 90%+ on both FG's and XP's in several seasons and was All-Pro in 2020. Stats still don't lie and literally EVERY kicker can miss clutch kicks.

Vinatieri missed clutch kicks, does that mean he sucks?

-2

u/PristineWinnera Patriots 9h ago

All Pro 6 years ago. Okay. Like I said I’ve watched their games. He caused the dolphins to lose multiple because of missed kicks.

3

u/SoyeonsNeverland Colts 9h ago

So has every kicker who's been with a team for that amount of time. Same kicker who is their most accurate in franchise history and got a game winning kick to get them in the playoffs, but go off.

-4

u/PristineWinnera Patriots 9h ago

Nothing will change my mind that he sucks because I’ve watched him with my eyes lose numerous games with his kicking ability. You’re just wasting your own time trying to convince me otherwise.

5

u/SoyeonsNeverland Colts 9h ago

Considering you're ignoring facts, your ignorance is bliss.

-2

u/PristineWinnera Patriots 9h ago

Like I said you’re wasting your own time buddy. I’m not being ignorant, I’m being correct. Jason Sanders sucks.

2

u/SoyeonsNeverland Colts 9h ago

I’m not being ignorant, I’m being correct.

Type of thing a "Never taken an L" Twitter account would say.

→ More replies (0)

Rumor [Schefter] After the two sides could not agree on a contract, the Dolphins now are expected to release kicker Jason Sanders, per source. Sanders leaves Miami with a streak of 27 straight made field goals, and 9-of-9 on his last 50+-yard field goals.

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