For the second year in a row, the Bills are doing their due diligence on kickers amidst concerns with regular kicker Tyler Bass. Bass’s kicking performance in 2024 was about the same as the prior year that prompted the first host of kickers, but per USA Today’s Nick Wojton, there are now injury concerns also in consideration. 
According to Wojton, Bass missed most of training camp with a pelvic injury. He was able to be cleared in time for the preseason finale, making three of his four attempts in that game, but there are clearly concerns about his ability to be reliable here at the start of the season.
As said last year, and as if to underline the point, Bass has been nothing if not consistent. In his first three seasons, Bass missed four field goals attempts in each regular season. In both 2023 and 2024, Bass went exactly 24-for-29. Last year, Bass went a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals over 50 yards but missed four from 40-49 yards and one from 20-29 yards.
His rookie season saw him miss two field goals and an extra point attempt in the playoffs, and his second trip to the postseason the next year saw him miss two more extra point attempts. He cleaned it up with a perfect postseason in 2022, though he didn’t attempt a kick over 40 yards, but 2023 saw him miss three postseason field goal attempts, including one late in the team’s divisional round loss to the Chiefs. He turned it around again in 2024, going a perfect 6-for-6 in the postseason, including two from beyond 50 yards.
With injuries serving as a potential hindrance to Bass starting the regular season, the team hosted three free agent kickers — up one from last year. According to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports, Eddy Pineiro, Zane Gonzalez, and Greg Joseph came in to work out with the Bills.
Gonzalez has been around the longest of the three, getting drafted in the seventh round by the Browns in 2017. Gonzalez appeared in six games for the Commanders in 2024 but hadn’t appeared in a game before that since the 2021 season.
Joseph had three straight seasons with the Vikings from 2021-23, but the team allowed him to walk in free agency after watching him struggle with accuracy issues. Last year, Joseph appeared in eight games with three different teams; he kicked in six games with the Giants and a game apiece with the Commanders and Jets, going 16-for-20 overall.
Pineiro has been the Panthers’ primary kicker for each of the past three seasons. He’s been impressive as a field goal kicker, going 33-for-35 in his first year with the team and 5-for-7 from beyond 50 yards in his second year with the team. His biggest struggle has oddly been with extra points. During his time in Carolina, Pineiro has missed seven extra point attempts.
While Bass has had his struggles at times in Buffalo, it’s clear that none of the options visiting this weekend are clear upgrades over the 28-year-old. If Bass ends up needing to miss any time due to his pelvis injury, though, look for one of the veteran kickers to land on the practice squad in Buffalo, so they can be called up as a standard gameday elevation, if needed.