Former Falcons kicker Matt Bryant will try out for the team Friday, the team and Bryant confirmed.
“I am scheduled to fly in and kick a little tomorrow,” Bryant wrote in a text message to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday.
CNN’s Coy Wire, who played with Bryant and the Falcons in 2009 and 2010, initially reported the tryout.
Giorgio Tavecchio and Blair Walsh, who was signed Sunday, are in a competition for the field-goal kicking job. Both are set to play against the Jaguars on Thursday at TIAA Bank Field.
Tavecchio has made 4 of 8 field-goal attempts this exhibition season, with misses from 54, 52, 52 and 39 yards. It was the missed 39-yarder that sent the Falcons scrambling for some competition.
Tavecchio basically was given Bryant’s job after the veteran was released in February.
Walsh, who made 5 of 9 kicks in practice Tuesday, was out of football in 2018. However, he was a Pro Bowl and All Pro kicker as a rookie in 2012.
Bryant, who turned 44 in May, was the Falcons’ kicker for the past 10 years.
The Falcons were trying to go cheaper at the position. Tavecchio has a base salary of $645,000 for the 2019 season if he makes the team.
The release of Bryant created $2.8 million in cap space for the Falcons. Before getting released,Bryant was set to make $2.45 million this season.
In 10 seasons with the Falcons, Bryant made 250 of 282 field goals. Over his 17-year career, Bryant has made 388 of 450 field-goal attempts.
The most memorable field goal in Bryant’s tenure with the Falcons might be the 49-yarder that gave the Falcons a 30-28 victory over Seattle in the divisional round of the 2012 playoffs. It was the Falcons’ first playoff win since 2004.
Bryant’s 1,717 career points rank fifth among the NFL’s all-time active points leaders. Bryant’s 388 field goals over his career, would rank fourth among active field goal leaders. He also scored more than 100 points in a single season 10 times during his career – only 17 other players have accomplished this feat 10 or more times.
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