The Dallas Cowboys have agreed to a three-year contract with Kicker Greg Zuerlein. He follows Special Teams Coordinator John Fassel to Dallas after they’ve spent the last eight seasons together with the Rams.
Zuerlein is known for his long-range kicking ability but is also has an 82% field goal accuracy overall for his career. That makes him a more reliable version of Brett Maher.
Sources: Former #Rams K Greg Zuerlein is headed to the #Cowboys, rejoining special teams coach John Fassel. Zuerlein gets a three-year deal with a base value of $7.5 million.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 27, 2020
The move is a surprise after Dallas re-signed Kai Forbath a week ago. Given the years and money in Zuerlein’s deal, compared to just a minimal one-year contract for Forbath, you have to wonder how open a competition would be between them.
While a much bigger name among NFL kickers than Kai, Zuerlein is coming off a career-worst 72.7% on field goals in 2019. Forbath went 10-for-10 in the three games he played for the Cowboys last year.
John Fassel would seem to be the key figure in this move. As the closest observer of Greg Zuerlein the last eight years, hopefully he understands what was behind the veteran’s issues last season and know how to fix them.
We’ll see if Kai Forbath gets a chance to keep his job, or if the new coaching staff already has their man.