There is a chance the Broncos will have a new kicker as they prepare for their potentially pivotal AFC West game Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
An older kicker. A more experienced kicker. But a new kicker. The Broncos are bringing in veteran kickers Jay Feely and Connor Barth for workouts Tuesday, according to NFL sources.
It’s hardly a surprise, given the inconsistency of first-year Broncos kicker Brandon McManus. With the Broncos on the shortlist of Super Bowl contenders, they could use a kicker with experience at crunchtime.
McManus, 23, missed a field-goal attempt of 33 yards during Denver’s 39-36 victory over Miami, and he ranks last among the league’s 31 ranked kickers with a .692 field-goal percentage (hitting 9-of-13).
Feely, 38, has kicked in 13 NFL seasons for five teams, most recently last season with Arizona. In a 2010 game against the Broncos, Feely scored 25 points in a 43-13 rout of interim coach Eric Studesville’s Broncos. Feely kicked five field goals and four extra points and ran for a touchdown on a fake field-goal attempt. He was 30-of-36 (83.3 percent) on field-goal attempts last season, including 11-of-12 from 40 to 49 yards and 3-of-5 on kicks of at least 50 yards.
Barth, 28, has kicked in five NFL seasons, the last four with Tampa Bay. He missed the 2013 season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon in a charity basketball game. In his last season, 2012, Barth was 28-of-33 (84.8 percent) on field-goal attempts, including 12-of-13 from 40 to 49 yards and 6-of-9 from 50-plus.
Feely and Barth were released by their teams in training camp, as both the Cardinals and Bucs went with first-year kickers.
