The Indianapolis Colts announced Monday that they have waived third-year kicker Rodrigo Blankenship.
The #Colts are waiving kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 13, 2022
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
In a subsequent move, the Colts announced the signing of two new kickers to the practice squad; Chase McLaughlin and Lucas Havrisik. McLaughlin was with the Colts in 2019 and Havrisik was apart of rookie camp this season so both have some familiarity with the franchise.
Blankenship’s days were thought to be numbered following a dreadful performance in Week 1 that featured two kickoffs out of bounds and a 42-yard game winning field goal pushed wide in overtime against the Texans.
Colts are waiving Rodrigo Blankenship, source said, and as @TomPelissero first reported.
Highlights: 86% as a rookie, game winner vs. Green Bay
Lowlights: Missed short one vs. Buffalo in playoffs, Ravens game last year, Sunday in Houston
45-54 in 2+ seasons in Indy. pic.twitter.com/XFnAErToW4
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) September 13, 2022
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
After a solid rookie campaign in 2020, Rodrigo struggled with injury and accuracy last season, including three two missed field goals and an extra point in one game against Baltimore. That same game he suffered a hip injury and was left on injured reserve the rest of the season, despite recovering from the injury.
Entering this season there was thought that Blankenship would lose the starting job when Jake Verity was brought in to compete for it during training camp, however Blankenship survived that battle to retain the position.
Ultimately his previous misses and struggles from distance, combined with mistakes and a costly miss this past Sunday, proved to be the end for Hot Rod’s tenure in Indianapolis.