2022 is a critical year for Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, which makes this year’s training camp ultra-important. But one position isn’t meeting his expectations so far.
Speaking to the media this week, McCarthy was not happy with the state of the Cowboys’ kicking competition. Rookie Jonathan Garibay and veteran Lirim Hajrullahu are competing, but both of them are struggling with accuracy issues.
McCarthy stated that one of those two kickers has to “grab the rope” to win the kicker battle. Thus far, he feels that neither one has.
“These two are competing for a job,” McCarthy said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “At some point they got to start getting comfortable and making kicks more consistently. That is just stating the facts. At the end of the day, the rope is here. Someone has to grab it.”
Kicking was a bit of an issue for the Dallas Cowboys last season. Former starter Greg Zuerlein missed six field goals and a career-high six extra point attempts.
Lirim Hajrullahu started the 2021 season with the Cowboys but finished it with the Carolina Panthers. He went 5-for-5 on extra points in Dallas and converted four of his five field goals with the Panthers.
Jonathan Garibay was a star at Texas Tech and proved to have an exceptionally strong leg.
But if neither one distinguishes themselves in training camp, perhaps the Cowboys will get rid of both and find someone else’s castoff kicker instead.