There is no position where mistakes are more on display than kicker.
Quarterbacks can quickly redeem mistakes during games. It's easy to blame a running back's lack of success on offensive line play. Even punters only rarely get called out for bad punts.
But as Cleveland's Cade York and San Francisco's Jake Moody are learning this preseason, kicker problems are painfully obvious. Nothing stands out more than missed field goals, considering it is the most notable important of the job. Justin Reid can launch a touchback on kickoffs. Making a field goal and adding three crucial points is much different.
The preseason is a time where players are still working out their issues, but it can also be a chance for teams to identify noticeable areas of weakness. And if kickers continue to struggle, it won't take long until teams start to look at the free agent market to identify potential replacements before the season begins.
MORE: TSN preseason power rankings
Who are the top free agent kickers waiting for one of the 32 starting jobs to open up? Here's what you need to know.
Free agent NFL kickers 2023
Mason Crosby
Crosby has spent 16 years in the NFL, all of them with the Packers. But after Green Bay picked Anders Carlson in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Crosby finds himself on the open market and looking for a new team.
Though no spring chicken at 38 years old (and turning 39 on Sept. 3), Crosby still has what it takes to be an effective kicker in the NFL. He made 86.2 percent of his tries last year, including 6-of-7 between 40 and 49 yards, with a long field goal of 56 yards. He also converted on 37-of-39 extra-point tries.
Crosby might not be the guy you want trying to make a 50-plus-yarder any more, but the accuracy is still there. For teams hoping just to have some mid-range reliability, Crosby's as good as it gets.
Ryan Succop
The 2009 Mr. Irrelevant is looking for his fourth team. Succop has bounced around a bit in his career, but has always maintained a starting role. The Chiefs made him their kicker starting in 2009 and had him for the first five years of his career before he went on to spend six years with the Titans. Most recently, he paired up with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay in 2020, becoming the first Mr. Irrelevant to play in and win a Super Bowl.
But now the 36-year-old kicker is back on the market. Like Crosby, there's reliability with Succop even if there isn't the power he used to have. Succop made 29-of-31 attempts from anything shorter than 49 yards during the 2022 season with the Buccaneers, and missed just one of 25 extra-point attempts. He did hit two field goals from 50 yards or more, including one at 54, but missed five.
Those struggles from long range led to Succop's second-worst field-goal percentage of his career last year at 81.6 percent, but he'd still be a solid option for a team needing a kicker that can pick up the easy three points.
MORE: Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings 2023
Robbie Gould
The oldest kicker on this list, Gould is heading into his age-40 campaign as a free agent after having spent the past six years with the 49ers. Last year, he saw full kickoff duties for the first time since 2016 with the Giants, and notched a career-best 47 touchbacks.
It wasn't a perfect season for Gould, however. He went 7-for-11 on kicks in the 40s, though he was a perfect two-for-two on 50-plus-yarders during the season. He finished the year with a field goal percentage of 84.4 percent and a near-perfect 50-for-51 on extra-point tries.
Gould remains a veteran kicker with plenty of postseason experience, who still has plenty of value as he looks for his fourth team.
Randy Bullock
Bullock has been no stranger to moving across the league. Since beginning his career in Houston in 2013, Bullock has spent time with the Jets, Bengals, Giants, Steelers and Titans, having most recently held Tennessee's starting role for the past two years.
The 33-year-old kicker doesn't have the accuracy track record of the previous three names, though he can still be reliable from shorter ranges. He has yet to post a field-goal percentage above 90 percent in any given season, though he hasn't missed a kick inside 40 yards since 2021. In his career, he has connected on 14-of-28 kicks from 50 yards or farther, with a career-long of 57. He also has been largely reliable on extra points, going a perfect 20-for-20 in 2022 and missing just three of 45 attempts in 2021.
Bullock's struggles in the 40-yard range and the fact he has attempted only three kicks from 50 or farther since 2020 likely have kept him from landing a starting role this offseason. But he's on the shortlist of players most likely to get the call if a team needs a replacement kicker.
Tristan Vizcaino
The other four kickers all have plenty of experience as starters in the league, but Vizcaino is a bit more unproven. He's appeared in only 10 NFL games in parts of three seasons for four teams as he's bounced around from the 49ers to the Chargers to the Cardinals and finally the Patriots.
But Vizcaino has been a solid field-goal kicker when given the opportunity. To this point in his career, he is 11-of-12 overall, with his lone miss coming in the 40-49-yard range. He has struggled from extra-point range, however, as he went a dismal 10-of-15 in 2021 for Los Angeles, though he's been a perfect 5-for-5 in the other two seasons.
Vizcaino would offer some versatility as a kicker who also handled punting duties at times in college and is still young at 27 years old. He'd be a bit of a riskier gamble, however, given his limited track record in the league to date.
