Shaun Suisham is out for the year with a torn ACL, and that’s a blow to the Steelers. Suisham has never been as heralded as kickers like Gostkowski, Vinatieri and Janikowski, but he’s long been very good at his job. Accurate.
Over the last three years, Suisham is 20 for 20 on field goals in the range of 40-49 yards. That’s the best in the league, and he’s done it despite playing half of his games at Heinz Field, where the sod multiple times has been voted the worst in the league.
Suisham missed 2 short field goals at Oakland two years ago, otherwise he’s also been percent in the 30-39 yard range. He’s good, and that becomes more significant this year, with extra points moving back to become 33-yard field goals.
There aren’t a lot of choice kicking options available right now. Billy Cundiff and Garrett Hartley are out there, but they’ve been erratic in recent years. Alex Henery looked OK for awhile with the Eagles, but he fizzled in Detroit last year. Jay Feely looks like the frontrunner. He’s got plenty of experience, and he performed fine when the Bears picked him up late last year.
On the following chart, free agent kickers are flagged with black dots.
| FIELD GOALS OF 40-49 YARDS SINCE 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | FG | FGA | Pct |
| 1. | Shaun Suisham | 30 | 30 | 100.0% |
| 2. | Dan Bailey | 25 | 26 | 96.2% |
| 3. | Adam Vinatieri | 31 | 35 | 88.6% |
| 4. | Matt Bryant | 23 | 26 | 88.5% |
| 5. | Kai Forbath | 22 | 25 | 88.0% |
| 6. | Phil Dawson | 21 | 24 | 87.5% |
| 7. | Dan Carpenter | 25 | 29 | 86.2% |
| 8. | Justin Tucker | 24 | 28 | 85.7% |
| 9. | Sebastian Janikowski | 22 | 26 | 84.6% |
| 10. | Steven Hauschka | 25 | 30 | 83.3% |
| 11. | • Jay Feely | 20 | 24 | 83.3% |
| 12. | Stephen Gostkowski | 32 | 39 | 82.1% |
| 13. | Josh Scobee | 22 | 27 | 81.5% |
| 14. | Robbie Gould | 16 | 20 | 80.0% |
| 15. | Blair Walsh | 19 | 24 | 79.2% |
| 16. | Mike Nugent | 23 | 30 | 76.7% |
| 17. | Nick Folk | 26 | 34 | 76.5% |
| 18. | Randy Bullock | 19 | 25 | 76.0% |
| 19. | Matt Prater | 19 | 25 | 76.0% |
| 20. | Ryan Succop | 21 | 28 | 75.0% |
| 21. | • Alex Henery | 18 | 24 | 75.0% |
| 22. | • Billy Cundiff | 15 | 20 | 75.0% |
| 23. | Mason Crosby | 20 | 27 | 74.1% |
| 24. | Graham Gano | 16 | 22 | 72.7% |
| 25. | Caleb Sturgis | 14 | 20 | 70.0% |
| 26. | • David Akers | 11 | 20 | 55.0% |
—Ian Allan
