The in-game portion of the Broncos’ kicking competition began with misses by both specialists. Brett Maher and Elliott Fry each missed their first field goal tries in Friday’s preseason opener in Arizona. Denver will now shift to a new phase in its search to fill Brandon McManus‘ longtime role.
Denver waived Fry with an injury designation Tuesday, with 9News’ Mike Klis noting the young kicker tweaked a lower-body injury (Twitter link). It is not believed to be a serious setback, but the Broncos moved on from Fry to clear a roster spot for a long snapper signing. The team added Jack Landherr.
Maher, 33, is now the only kicker on the Broncos’ 90-man roster. Fry pulled a muscle, per Sean Payton, who has not ruled out bringing in another kicker to compete with Maher, Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette tweets.
Fry, 28, joined the Broncos shortly after their McManus release, catching on with yet another team to continue a nomadic NFL journey. Fry, who has kicked in three NFL games (from 2020-21) and done so with three separate teams, was with the Cardinals earlier this offseason. After a May Arizona exit, Fry wound up in Denver after a workout.
Maher received the first opportunity against the Cardinals, missing a 47-yard field goal in the first quarter. Payton then summoned Fry for the team’s second field goal attempt — from 50 yards — but that misfired as well. Fry, however, rebounded to make a 55-yarder in the second quarter. Maher finished the game 0-for-2 on his field goal tries, having seen a 52-yard attempt blocked as well.
McManus had served as the Broncos’ kicker for the past nine seasons; he is now with the Jaguars. Veteran options remain on the market. Robbie Gould, Mason Crosby, Ryan Succop and Randy Bullock are unsigned. It would surprise if the Broncos handed the job to Maher, who capped a strong 2022 Cowboys regular season (90.6% FG accuracy) with a disastrous two-game playoff effort.
A UCLA alum, Landherr participated in the Broncos’ rookie minicamp in May. Mitchell Fraboni sits as the other long snapper on Denver’s roster. Fraboni snapped in four Broncos games last season, marking the only regular-season experience of his NFL career.
Sean Payton’s expression was priceless when the 2nd field goal was missed. I thought both kickers were going to get canned after the game.
Go get Dominik Eberle.
Go get Dominik Eberle
Out of curiosity I checked Pro Football Reference and it appears Elliot Fry will now be searching for a 12th jersey to hang in his closet. You have to wonder at what point GMs will realize that this guy just isn’t going to be the kicker they’re looking for.