It was a bit of a disappointment not to see former Buccaneers kicker Jose Borregales find his place in the NFL. The former Lou Groza-winner quickly fizzled out of Tampa Bay and saw similarly unsuccessful stays in the XFL and CFL. According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, though, Borregales will be pursuing a new route to the NFL when he works as a Nunn Wooten scouting fellow for the Dolphins in training camp.
Borregales started his initial road to the NFL as a kicker at FIU, staying local for college after growing up in Miami. As a redshirt sophomore working his second season as the Panthers’ primary placekicker, Borregales was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award (given to college football’s best kicker), finishing behind current Browns kicker Andre Szmyt. Staying local a second time, Borregales transferred to Miami (FL) for his redshirt senior year. After converting 20 of 22 field goals attempts and all 37 extra point attempts, Borregales won the Lou Groza Award and was named first-team All-ACC and a consensus first-team All-American.
Despite his success with the Hurricanes, Borregales went undrafted in a 2021 draft that only saw one kicker — Evan McPherson of the Bengals — selected. He signed with the Buccaneers, who had just signed Ryan Succop to a three-year extension. Still, Borregales initially made the team’s 53-man roster, but the team waived him three days before the start of the regular season and stashed him on their practice squad. Borregales signed a reserve/futures deal to stick with the team another offseason, but when he was waived in final roster cuts in 2022, it appeared to be the end of his opportunity in the NFL.
Borregales’ latest move is once again keeping him local. A fellowship with the Dolphins will give the 28-year-old an opportunity at a new path to the NFL. If he eventually finds a permanent role in the Dolphins’ personnel department, he’ll be scouting to build a roster that can beat the reigning AFC East champion Patriots, a team that rosters his little brother, Andy Borregales.
Borregales: “If anyone calls, just tell them I’ve gone to the beach to scout for cheerleaders”.