The Arizona Cardinals open training camp with the specialists set. Andy Lee will punt. Zane Gonzalez will kick and Aaron Brewer is the long snapper. They also have another punter on the roster in Ryan Winslow, but his role is not really to compete with Lee.
Winslow obviously will try and compete but his role is to keep Lee, who is 36 years old, from having to kick too much in the preseason.
The expectations are pretty high. Lee set a team record for punting average and is still one of the most effective punters in the game.
Brewer has been consistent.
Gonzalez is the wild card. The team clearly has confidence in him after his performance late last season but he has not established himself yet in the league, so it is surprising the team never brought in any other kicker to compete with him.
If he can be anything near what he was while at Arizona State, he might be the Cardinals’ kicker for a long time.
Gonzalez is the only question mark of the group.
If he is consistent, then the Cardinals will not have to worry about the kicking game at all.
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