Buffalo Sports News

Buffalo Sports News

Buffalo Bills Star Faces Career-Defining Game vs. Titans in Week 7

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Bills Tyler Bass

Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass was once among the NFL’s best players at the position. Now, he could be one poor performance away from losing his spot on the 53-man roster. It puts a lot of pressure on his shoulders as the team prepares to face the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

The Bills have given Bass every opportunity to work through his struggles. They didn’t sign any competition over the offseason and continued to support the 27-year-old Georgia Southern product as his issues from late in the 2023 season carried over to the 2024 campaign.

Buffalo can’t wait on a return to form forever, though. It’s 4-2 and is still aiming the emerge as a Super Bowl contender. It’s a task made harder when you’re leaving points on the field almost every week because of missed kicks. A change is inevitable if the results don’t change soon.

Tyler Bass Facing Now-or-Never Moment vs. Titans

Examining Tyler Bass’ NFL Career Arc

The Bills selected Bass in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. He’d earned three straight All-Sun Belt selections at Georgia Southern, including First Team honors in 2018. He built a reputation as a kicker with one of the biggest legs in college football.

Bass endured an up-and-down rookie season in Buffalo. He missed six field goals, including three from the must-make range of 30-39 yards, and also failed to convert a pair of extra points.

The South Carolina native then appeared to emerge as an elite kicker over the next two years. Here are his combined numbers from the 2021 and 2022 seasons:

  • 55 of 63 on field goals (87.3 percent)
  • 99 of 101 on extra points (98.0 percent)
  • 18 of 23 on FGs of 40+ yards (78.3 percent)

Buffalo rewarded that success by signing Bass to a four-year, $20.4 million contract in April 2023. The deal is scheduled to run through the 2027 campaign.

Bass has struggled since signing the lucrative extension, though. He missed six kicks during the regular season last year (five field goals and one extra point). He added three more misses in the playoffs, including a failed game-tying attempt late in a 27-24 Divisional Round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Bills were hoping for a bounce-back season from their kicker in 2024, but it hasn’t arrived. He’s already missed five kicks (three field goals and two extra points) in six games.

Bills Sign Lucas Havrisik to Practice Squad

Buffalo announced Thursday it’d signed Havrisik to the practice squad. The move came a day after the franchise held a workout for several kickers.

Havrisik went undrafted out of the University of Arizona in 2022. He’s since spent time with four different NFL teams: the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns (two stints), Los Angeles Rams, and now the Bills.

Although he’s already made multiple stops, his only in-season work came with the Rams last year, and it wasn’t overly impressive. He made just 15 of his 20 field-goal attempts (75.0 percent) and 19 of his 22 extra points (86.4 percent).

Havrisik also made a mediocre 64.2 percent of his field goals for the Wildcats in college.

Quite frankly, it’s hard to imagine the Bills giving up on Bass for a replacement with such an underwhelming track record. It makes the move feel mostly like a motivational tactic.

Brandon Beane Comments on Kicker Situation

Beane and head coach Sean McDermott have stood firmly behind Bass every step of the way. All offseason questions were raised about not bringing in kicker competition. Each time they expressed confidence, their special teams star would find his accuracy again.

Perhaps that belief is finally fading. The Bills general manager admitted in comments Wednesday a roster move could be on the horizon if things don’t change:

The most important line: “If there’s a better option that we have to turn to, then we’ll do that.”

It’s hard to unequivocally say Havrisik is a better choice. In fact, his numbers suggest he could somehow be a worse option. That speaks to the less-than-impressive market of free-agent kickers.

Will Bass Survive Trip to Roster Fringe?

Havrisik taking over as the Bills’ kicker would be a surprise. Instead, the newly signed special-teamer represents a sign the front office is willing to consider a change at the position. The actual replacement is likely kicking for another team right now and would be acquired via trade ahead of the Nov. 5 deadline.

One option will be on the opposite sideline Sunday: Titans kicker Nick Folk. The 39-year-old veteran is off to a perfect start in 2024: 8-of-8 on field goals and 10-of-10 on extra points. With Tennessee trending toward a full-scale rebuilding year, accepting an asset for Folk is definitely on the table.

The Titans may even consider taking Bass in the trade, which would save the Bills an additional $3.3 million in cap space this year compared to a release, per Spotrac. His dead-cap hit for next season would remain the same ($3.1 million), though. Tennessee would give Bass a low-pressure environment to rediscover success.

In a perfect world, the kicker would take the added motivation from Havrisik’s arrival and parlay it into a career revitalization. Not only would it help the Bills’ special teams, which rate 26th in ESPN’s efficiency rankings, but it would save the organization a fair amount of money.

Kicking is a mental game, however, and Bass’ recent misses don’t exhibit much confidence. The kicker spoke with WGRZ’s Jonathan Acosta on Thursday about his outlook:

Bass’ talent, which was on full display earlier in his career, isn’t in question. He can be a top-tier kicker who makes a high-octane Josh Allen-led offense even more dangerous. Whether he’s capable of getting back to that level in the immediate future is uncertain, though.

One thing’s for sure: another bad performance or two will leave the Bills no choice but to move on.

Main Image: Chris Pedota – USA Today Sports

The post Buffalo Bills Star Faces Career-Defining Game vs. Titans in Week 7 appeared first on Last Word on Pro Football.