Ben “Better Call Sauls” Sauls better call a doctor and figure out what the heck is going on with this “undisclosed injury” he’s apparently working through, because it's costing him dearly.
On Sunday, during roster cut day, the New York Giants waived the 25-year-old with an injury designation, ending his time in East Rutherford after one hell of a run. I won’t dive too deep into how he saved Giants fans’ sanity after watching four kickers make them want to rip their hair out and throw their remotes at the wall last year, but you couldn’t imagine how hard it was to finally get some consistency.
Sauls came in and made all 15 of his kicks (eight field goals and seven extra points) to close out the season, giving North Jersey that long-awaited feeling of “we finally have a freaking kicker.” He was the hero New York deserved, only apparently not the one it needed right now.
That role belongs to undrafted rookie sensation Dominic Zvada, who beat Sauls out for the job after a heated offseason battle. Zvada-matic was more than deserving, and Sauls proved he deserves a job somewhere, too.
Yet here we are. The second-year kicker is free to sign anywhere, and somehow, nobody has scooped him up. At this point, it’s hard not to wonder whether that undisclosed injury is the only thing standing between Sauls and his next employment opportunity.
Giants castoff Ben Sauls is somehow still waiting for a call
The New York Jets are reportedly bringing in Jake Karty for a workout on Wednesday. This comes after they released veteran kicker Jason Sanders -- who also spent time with the G-Men this summer -- on Sunday and re-signed him to the practice squad on Monday.
The reason for Sanders’ initial release was that Gang Green had claimed Blake Grupe off waivers after the Indianapolis Colts cut him on roster cut day. It’s a whacky series of events, but to sort it all out, here’s the SparkNotes version:
The Jets are working their way through three kickers, all probably worse options than Sauls, while Sauls remains on the open market.
Making things even more confusing is the Ravens signing veteran kicker Jake Moody to their practice squad on Monday. Baltimore already has second-year kicker Tyler Loop, who struggled his way through the offseason after sending the Ravens home last year with a missed game-winning field goal try in Week 18 against the Steelers.
That’s five kickers getting looks while Sauls remains unsigned, even though the former Pitt Panther has done more than enough to warrant one himself... if he’s healthy. Which is a big if and brings me right back to where we started.
There’s no way to know how serious Sauls’ mysterious, undisclosed injury actually is until someone, you know, discloses it. Still, watching kicker-needy teams kick the tires on seemingly every available leg except his is starting to tell us something.
Sauls made all of his kicks for the Giants last season. He continued that trend through the preseason. He still lost the job to Zvada because, somehow, the 22-year-old managed to be even better, which should’ve left the 25-year-old as one of the easiest post-cutdown additions for any team with a question mark at kicker.
Instead, Better Call Sauls is still waiting for someone to call him. At this point, his injury sure looks like the reason why, and with the season quickly approaching, it couldn't have come at a worse time.
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