INDIANAPOLIS – Creating competition at kicker for this offseason should have always been on Chris Ballard’s agenda.
That was addressed on Thursday when the Colts signed kicker Eddy Pineiro to a one-year deal.
Pineiro was the Bears kicker in 2019, but missed last season due to a groin injury, thus losing his job. In 2019, Pineiro was 23-of-28 on field goals (82.1 percent) and 27-of-29 on extra points (93.1 percent)
For a second straight year, the Colts will have a kicking competition for their place kicking position.
This was always a smart decision for Indy.
Let’s first be clear though: Rodrigo Blankenship had a really nice rookie season, especially for an undrafted free agent replacing the GOAT (Adam Vinatieri).
Hot Rod made 86.5 percent of his fields goals (32-of-37) and 95.6 percent (43-of-45) of his extra points.
But there were a couple of issues/lingering question makes.
In losses to start the season, and end the year, Hot Rod missed a pair of chip shot field goals.
He also was just 1-of-4 on field goals north of 45 yards. Leg strength wasn’t an issue for Hot Rod in college, but he wasn’t as accurate on those kicks last season and also didn’t get thrown into many late-game pressure kick spots.
With that a bit of an unknown, it makes total sense for the Colts to add another kicker, with experience, and see how Hot Rod reacts to that.
Pineiro, who obviously kicked outdoors much more than Blankenship, was 2-of-2 on kicks past 50 yards last year.
The Colts will get on the field in two weeks for the start of their OTAs.
