Is Chase McLaughlin The Bucs’ Kicker Of The Future?

It’s no secret that the Bucs have had trouble with finding a consistent kicker. Before Ryan Succop handled the kicking duties the last three years the team had gone through 11 kickers since 2009. Tampa Bay signed several free agents that didn’t pan out, in addition to investing draft picks in two kickers, Roberto Aguayo and Matt Gay, until they signed Succop in 2020. 

Succop brought a level of consistency during his tenure with the Bucs making 84 of his 99 field goal attempts. In 2020, he set the franchise record for points scored in a season en route to helping Tampa Bay win Super Bowl LV. Yet Succop, who was 36 last year, struggled with kicks from beyond 40 yards. That and a reasonably high salary cap hit ultimately led to his release from the team.

To replace him the Bucs brought in former Colts kicker Chase McLaughlin. However, the team didn’t just award him the starting job. The Bucs signed another former Colt in Rodrigo Blankenship to compete with McLaughlin for the starting spot. McLaughlin had a resume of being able to hit the long kicks but struggled with consistency in the short game. Blankenship’s resume was just the opposite. 

Chase McLaughlin’s Perfect Preseason Earned Him Bucs’ Kicking Duties

Through a month-long training camp battle both Chase McLaughlin and Rodrigo Blankenship had their hits and a few misses. But when the lights came on during the preseason McLaughlin rose to the occasion. He made both his extra point attempts in the opener against Pittsburgh. McLaughlin followed that up with a made extra point as well as a field goal from 48 yards out against the Jets.

In that same Jets game, Blankenship missed two field goals and was subsequently released with McLaughin winning the Bucs’ kicking battle.

Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

McLaughlin saved his best performance for the Bucs final preseason game. He knocked in all four field goal attempts and two extra points to put little doubt in anyone’s minds on his ability to handle the duties in Raymond James Stadium.

That includes Bucs general manager Jason Licht, who commented on McLaughlin’s perfect preseason on his August attempts. 

“It’s always good,” Licht said. “It’s always better than the alternative. Now we’re moving into the regular season where they count. I know he’s up for it. I know we have a lot of confidence in him. You can just see that in the way he carries himself.

“So it was great, but now it comes time to cross your fingers a little bit in the regular season with whatever kicker. With whoever you have as kicker. We’ve had a lot of good kickers leave here and go on to do great things too.”

On only a one-year deal, McLaughlin will try to follow the footsteps of Succop and secure a long-term contract to stay with the Bucs past the season. At age 27, McLaughlin could help the Bucs for quite a long time if he’s successful. But first he’ll need to continue to stay consistent and make his kicks this season – or he could find himself on the outs like the 11 kickers that came before Succop.