Matt Bryant getting released by the Falcons recently came as a surprise to most. Bryant had signed a three-year contract extension last spring and had another solid season despite missing three games, connecting on 20 of 21 field goal attempts. In fact, Byrant is one of the NFL’s most accurate and consistent kickers from year to year – he’s a career 86 percent kicker.
Nevertheless, Atlanta declined the team option for the final two years of his deal. Speaking in an interview on 92.9 The Game earlier this week, Bryant said he thought he played well enough to keep his job but had a gut feeling that it could happen.
“Nothing was ever said to me. To be flat out honest, I had a gut feeling that it could happen. . . But I thought that with my play on the field that it couldn’t happen if that makes sense. So when it happened, I was caught off guard but that’s how it goes sometimes.”
So, what’s next for Money Bryant? He told Vaughn McClure at ESPN that the Buccaneers are a real option once he hits free agency a month from now. Bryant previously played for Tampa four years before he came to Atlanta. They have been in need of a kicker upgrade ever since.
While Giorgio Tavecchio does look promising, the team will definitely be kicking themselves if Tampa’s Matt Bryant problem becomes their own.
