Veteran long snapper JJ Jansen is no stranger to kicking competitions, having participated in similar situations earlier in his career. This preseason, the Carolina Panthers have yet to decide on their starting kicker as rookie Ryan Fitzgerald and veteran Matthew Wright compete for the position.
Fitzgerald handled all kicking duties during Thursday night’s preseason finale, converting a field goal, an extra point, and handling kickoffs. In three preseason games, he has made all three of his field goal attempts from distances of 32, 52, and 43 yards. Wright, who has prior NFL experience and performed consistently in practice throughout the summer, missed his only attempt in preseason play from 55 yards.
When asked if a decision had been made regarding the starting kicker role, Panthers head coach Dave Canales responded: “Not yet, no. We’ll talk about that tomorrow.”
The uncertainty has affected the dynamic among special teams players. Jansen explained: “It’s tricky in that there’s this natural competition happening and you’re trying to not pick sides. But part of the job is you’re supposed to form relationships with these guys on a deeper level, the same way any teammates you’d like to form. It’s kind of hard to get super close to one because if I get super close to one, the other one feels like I’m picking a side, or vice versa. So that gets a little bit tricky.
“You’re certainly trying to do the very best you can for both guys, but you probably don’t get quite the same opportunity to build the relationship as a unit of three. That’s kind of the one downside to it, but when you’re trying to find the best player for the team, that’s understandable why that’s a little bit sacrificed.”
Jansen recalled previous camp-long competitions involving Olindo Mare and Justin Medlock in 2012 and Graham Gano and Harrison Butker in 2017.
Fitzgerald acknowledged how much he has learned from working with experienced teammates Jansen and punter Sam Martin: “A combined 31 years of experience and just picking their brains every day, every chance I can,” he said. “And I’ve learned so much in just the short time I’ve been here, so they’ve been so great, having me under their wing.”
He also expressed appreciation for Wright’s support during what can be an awkward situation: “First off, it’s been a lot of fun just coming in here every day and getting better and learning as much as I can from these specialists,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m just super grateful for the opportunity to be here.”
The age gap between Fitzgerald (25) and Jansen (39) was noted by both players. Fitzgerald joked about being closer in age to Jansen’s oldest son than to Jansen himself. Jansen reflected on his own early days learning from veteran John Kasay: “So my mentor for the first two years of my career was a guy that I was in close range to his kids,” Jansen said. “His oldest was 12, and I was 22. So now it’s sort of the shoe’s on the other foot…”
Jansen also described lighthearted moments among specialists after practice sessions.
Head coach Canales decided against attempting another late field goal during Thursday’s game: “Yeah, I think we had played enough football,” he said. He added that both teams were focused on giving additional reps to evaluate players rather than extending play unnecessarily.
Canales concluded that there is enough information available despite not having an extra kick at game’s end: “I think so, and we have the benefit, of course, of Matt being around for a while,” he said. “And both guys did a heck of a job in my opinion…these are two guys that bring something special…”
The Panthers are expected to make their decision soon as they prepare for final roster moves ahead of the regular season.
