If Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wants to get into the ultimate reality show game, he could hold open auditions for his kicker job.
The Cowboys currently have inexperienced Tristan Vizcaino -- who's played in 10 games over three seasons, with 12 career field goal attempts -- on the roster. However, special teams coordinator John Fassel said over the weekend the club is ready to turn over every rock to find competition at the kicker position.
"Well, we've got Tristan on the roster. Anybody else on earth who is not on the team right now is under consideration," Fassel said Saturday. "That's everybody really. ... That could be a lot of different guys that we're still looking at -- XFL, USFL, veterans on the street, younger guys who still haven't found a way."
If you're on Earth, you have a shot to be the Cowboys kicker. Congratulations!
The reality is the Cowboys are likely to bring in a veteran to compete with Vizcaino. The move could come closer to training camp when experienced booters begin to ramp up for another campaign. Fassel mentioned three options by name.
"It's probably the easier way (to go) because you know more what you're going to get," Fassel said. "If you're going to bring them in, you've got to be excited about what it is. There's veterans on the street right now -- let's face it, there's Mason (Crosby), there's Robbie (Gould), there's (Ryan) Succop. There's a lot of guys that have performed at a good level in the NFL, and you weigh that against everything else. There's really no secrets of who's available. I think the good thing for us at the kicker spot is just being patient and deciding who that second guy is we're going to bring in, whether it's now or training camp to compete against Tristan."
Fassel noted that bringing back Brett Maher isn't off the table, despite the kicker's horrific finish to the 2022 season, in which he got the yips, missing four of five extra points in the Cowboys wild-card win and another PAT in the Divisional Round (two made field goals).
"I think everything's on the table," Fassel said. "Let's face it, if you look at Brett, he had a great year. He had a bad game. But he played 22 games, but he had a bad game-and-a-half. I think everybody's on the table. I'm proud of what Brett did last year. If he gets a shot here or somewhere else, I'm sure he'll perform well."
To summarize: The Cowboys could sign Mason Crosby, Robbie Gould, Ryan Succop, Brett Maher or Random Earthling 1.
