Cowboys considering ‘anybody else on Earth’ at kicker after Brett Maher debacle

The Cowboys are really taking their time before selecting a kicker for the 2023 season, perhaps a move out of desperation to avoid another fiasco such as the Brett Maher one that defined their postseason.

Dallas special teams coordinator John Fassel told the team’s website that the team will consider Tristan Vizcaino, who is currently on the roster, as well as “anybody else on Earth who is not on the team right now.”

“That’s everyone really,” Fassel said. “I think we have a lot of different guys that we’re still looking at — XFL, USFL, veterans on the street, younger guys who still haven’t found their way.”

That appears to be an obvious message to Vizcaino — an undrafted free agent in 2019 who has attempted just 12 field goals and 20 extra points in his NFL career — that his place on the roster is anything but a guarantee.

Last year, during the Cowboys’ wild-card victory over the Buccaneers, Maher became the first kicker in NFL history to miss four extra points in the same game.

Fassel said that “everything is on the table,” which includes a potential reunion with Maher.

Fassel added he thinks Maher will “perform well” whether his next contract comes with the Cowboys or with another NFL team, and he specifically referenced unsigned veterans Mason Crosby, Robbie Gould and Ryan Succop as potential veteran options the Cowboys could bring in between now and training camp.

Head coach Mike McCarthy kept turning to Maher for kicking attempts, even as the misses strung together, until the fourth quarter when McCarthy opted for a two-point conversion attempt instead.

Then, in the divisional round against the 49ers, Maher missed his first try at an extra point, with the kick getting blocked even though it would’ve veered wide anyway, according to Fox analyst Greg Olsen.

The Cowboys lost that game to the 49ers, ending their season and preventing McCarthy from having to make an immediate decision at kicker.

McCarthy stuck with Maher in between playoff games despite the four misses, though, and owner Jerry Jones publicly endorsed Maher’s status ahead of the San Francisco game — while even conversing with the 33-year-old on the field during pregame warmups.

Vizcaino joined their practice squad in between the Buccaneers and 49ers games, which, despite the support from McCarthy and Jones, appeared to be a precautionary move in case Maher’s struggles continued.

Maher remains unsigned and the Cowboys haven’t offered him a new contract in the four months after the historically poor stretch of kicking.

Maher returned to Dallas, where he made his NFL debut in 2018, in 2022 following a season with the Saints, and he connected on 29-of-32 field goals (career-best 90.6 percent) and 50-of-53 extra points (94.3 percent) during the regular season.