Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Roberto Aguayo waived after one season

Roberto Aguayo has been waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after one season with the team following being taken in the second round.

Per various media outlets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo has been waived. The team confirmed it on their social media account on Saturday.

Aguayo was a second-round pick for the Bucs (No. 59 overall) back in 2016. He certainly came into the NFL with a lot of hype surrounding his name because of that. He set the record for most kicks converted in his collegiate career (267-of-276, 96.67 percent) and was dependable for the Seminoles. His good fortune led him to become the first kicker since Sebastian Janikowski in 2000 to declare early for the NFL Draft.

However, his dependability and success in the collegiate ranks never really translated to the NFL. Simply put, he struggled last season.  He made only 71 percent of his field goals (22-of-32) and 98 percent of his extra points (32-of-34). He played in 16 games last season, making all of his field goals in only six of the games he played in.

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What does this mean for the kicking game? It’s actually quite simple. Nick Folk, the guy the Bucs brought in to challenge Aguayo, is now “the man” heading into 2017. This must be an interesting development for Folk. I got the sense that Folk was signed to motivate Aguayo to be better, and that the plan was for Aguayo to start. With that being said, Folk is a very capable kicker in his own right.

A draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys, Folk was taken in the sixth round No. 178 overall in 2007. The former Arizona State product did well in his first season with the Cowboys making 83 percent of his field goals (26-of-31) and all of his extra points (53-of-53). As a result of his performance, he was named to the Pro Bowl as well as the Pro Football Writer’s Associations’ All-NFC Team.

Folk stayed with the Cowboys for two years, before enjoying a six-year post with the New York Jets from 2010-16. During his time with the Jets, he cemented himself as one of the top kickers in the league. While in the Meadowlands, he was a three-time AFC Special Teams Player of the Week (Week 5 – 2010, Week 1 – 2013, Week 9 – 2013). With the Jets needing to clear some salary cap, he was released by the team on February 23.

Folk quickly found work however, signing as a free agent on March 17 with the Bucs.

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Considering the fact that it is so late in camp, it is highly unlikely that Tampa Bay will find a new kicker for the starting role. Maybe, they will bring in a backup kicker for the sake of depth, but other than that I do not see any further moves being made at the position.

It appears they will ride with Folk, and it will be interesting to see how this pans out.