Jason Myers’ struggles should put his future on thin ice

Jason Myers is just a season removed from a perfect 2020. That’s not his vision, because clearly he’s having a hard time with that. That’s the year before this one, when he finished a perfect 24 field goals made of 24 attempted.

Still, the Seattle Seahawks are best served moving on from him next season.

Myers missed another two extra point kicks against the Houston Texans, and has become one of the NFL’s worst kickers this year.

Entering Sunday, Myers was dead last of all kickers with at least 10 FGs attempted. He’s no longer dead last but near the bottom.

He’s also missed three total XPs this year, which is actually not the worst, but he’s tied for second. The extra point was pushed back in 2015 (when Myers entered the league), and he has missed more PATs than any other kicker during that span (26) and is now below 90% for his career, worst among all kickers with at least 100 extra point attempts.

It undeniably played a huge role in costing them the Week 2 game against the Tennessee Titans and the 13-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints in which he missed two field goals. Overall he has missed either a PAT or field goal in six games, which is half the season considering he didn’t have any attempt at points against the Packers.

Kickers miss kicks, even Justin Tucker that one time, blah blah.

But looking to next year, it makes more sense for Seattle to look elsewhere. Myers will be on the most expensive year of his deal, none of the base salary guaranteed. It’s a cap hit of $1 million to the team if they cut him, and he’s due $5 million as one of the league’s most inconsistent kickers over his career. Two great seasons, and five very different seasons.

This franchise still has fresh memories of a faulty kicker causing the team to miss the playoffs, circa Blair Walsh, 2017. This year is most certainly not that one, but I see no path to the coaches giving $5 million to a non-reliable kicking game with how many close games they play.

Randomly, Jason Myers’ touchback rate on kickoffs has absolutely plummeted this year. I don’t know what’s going on with him this year, but the dude is not finding the end zone at all on kickoffs. His career average is 69.3% kickoffs resulting in touchbacks. This year? 27.5%. Sure, the Seahawks have a great special teams and there’s a reason to try to hit the two-yard line and make a stop, but I saw Myers drop a kickoff on the nine-yard line this year.

Something has come off the tracks, and we might see a new face at the position next year.