Kicking competition could still change
The Panthers carried the kicking competition throughout training camp and the preseason, allowing both veteran Matthew Wright and rookie Ryan Fitzgerald to trade off kicking responsibilities during practice and games.
Fitzgerald ended up kicking in all three preseason games, hitting his field goal attempts from 32, 52, and 43 yards. Wright kicked consistently in practice, but missed his only preseason game attempt from 55 yards.
With roster cutdown day looming on Tuesday, the Panthers are presumably on the clock to make a decision. However, Canales acknowledged that the same can be said for every other team, and what another team does with their kicking competition might change the look of the Panthers’ special teams room.
“I feel very confident in both guys, but I also know there’s good kickers out there,” Canales said Friday.
“And again, just like every other position, I think we start with the information we have, and then we have to look at the whole thing just like we’re going to do with every other position. We’ve got to look at who’s all out there and how they stack up in terms of accuracy with the kicking game, field goals, and PATs, and then also what guys can bring to us in the kickoff setting, and all that. So that’s again going to be a part of these conversations coming up.”