Buffalo Bills train two kickers on Tuesday

While Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass has missed just one field goal through the first two weeks of the 2024 NFL regular season,

The Buffalo Bills reportedly acquired a pair of free-agent kickers on Tuesday, with both Anders Carlson and Cade York spotted on One Bills Drive. Unless kicker Tyler Bass is injured, it’s a notable development to say the least. That’s especially true considering Bass’ current contract.

NFL NetworkTom Pelissero was the first to share the news, which caused quite a stir among the Bills Mafia tonight.

Going back to the offseason work and throughout training camp, those in the local media who observed Bass’s practice efforts reported his struggles almost constantly. There were glaring missed kicks during the mandatory minicamp, which were followed by a fairly efficient training camp (Bass made 29 of 33 field goals overall) and a solid preseason with 6 of 7.

Even with his recent success, it seems like everyone is willing or able to wait for every missed kick or misstep from Tyler Bass. That’s true despite Bass’ strong start to the 2024 regular season.

Bass should be commended for making both field goal attempts and all four extra point attempts in Week 1. In Week 2, he added another field goal on two attempts and all extra point attempts (4 of 4).

It seems unfair to say his performance in the first two weeks was subpar, considering he missed just one field goal in four attempts. You may recall that 45-yard miss on the damp natural grass of Hard Rock Stadium with the Bills holding a commanding lead late in the fourth quarter.

Bass’s problems, however, have spread to his special teams work, particularly on Buffalo’s Week 1 kickoffs. Bass couldn’t hit his kicks deep enough into a head-on wind for touchbacks during the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals. That cost the Bills on the scoreboard when the coverage unit failed to prevent a touchdown return, briefly shifting the momentum Arizona’s way. Additionally, Bass kicked a kickoff out of bounds before it hit the end zone, resulting in a costly penalty.

Just five days later, against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2, Bass found a solid rebound and routinely put kickoffs in the end zone, but all anyone remembers is that missed field goal in the fourth quarter.

So what can one make of the Bills’ decision to try out Cade York and Anders Carlson? Are they trying to send a message, hoping Bass will respond with an All-Pro performance? Maybe Are Ready to move on?

General manager Brandon Beane will certainly argue that it’s important to look at every available player. Head coach Sean McDermott even said that “he’s got to make one” of Bass’ 51-yard miss in the team’s final preseason game against the Carolina Panthers.

Perhaps it’s not so much about Bass’ numbers, nor his current efficiency, but his current mindset. Still, one has to wonder if bringing in competition is the right approach to help Bass overcome this perceived slump.

For some looking for a reason to move on from Tyler Bass, Cade York and Anders Carlson will represent a golden opportunity. That said, it’s important to have a full picture of each kicker in line to potentially replace Bass.

Looking at career numbers, Bass’ career field-goal percentage is 84%. Meanwhile, Cade York has a career field-goal percentage of 70% (75% in 2022), and Anders Carlson has a career field-goal percentage of 81%. Carlson was a bit of a disaster on extra points in 2023, making just 87.2% of point-after tries. Neither of those stats represent an improvement over Bass’ production.

Additionally, one must consider the relative lack of NFL experience for York (18 games) and Carlson (17 games). Bass, on the other hand, has 68 regular season games and nine playoff games of experience. While some will point to Bass’s struggles in the postseason, neither York nor Carlson have each playoff experience.

York was so bad in Week 1 this season that the Washington Commanders cut him. Carlson hasn’t been on the roster since last season with the Green Bay Packers.

Bills fans everywhere in Western New York claim that Tyler Bass was the reason Buffalo lost to the Chiefs last January, and are furious because he went 1-of-3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers the week before.

Whether rightly or wrongly, playoff performances like Bass’ last season have been a sore point for many of the Bills Mafia. Has such a sentiment been allowed to fester too long among the Bills’ decision-makers? Sure, there’s a chance they’ll sign a kicker to the practice squad in hopes of avoiding the same fate that befell the New York Giants in Week 2.

Maybe.

The fact remains that many see Tyler Bass as a liability in 2024. There has been a lot of talk lately about how many key shots Bass will miss before head coach Sean McDermott takes action.

Would the team be willing to part ways with Bass — who just entered the first year of his four-year contract extension — and take on nearly $7.4 million in dead cap space? Is it time to part ways with the player with the highest field goal percentage in Bills franchise history?

It’s all in the way the wind blows, they say.