In the NFL, staff services have difficult decisions to make in April. Sometimes the need for a particular decision is obvious and sometimes it does not seem so serious.
Welcome to the discussion on the NFL 2025 project concerning the botter Jason Sanders.
Few fans are sitting on the edge of their seats while waiting to see what the Miami dolphins will do in a kicker position. The more can even wonder why such a discussion would even be entertained given the success of Sanders with the Dolphins.
While many complaints have been filed about Miami special teams in recent years, this discussion has rarely involved Sanders’ game.
A selection of seventh round of the University of New Mexico in 2018, Sanders simply holds the deductible record in percentage of goals in the field (min. 50), connecting to a clip of 84.7% on its seven seasons. He was appointed first All-Pro team in 2020 and Last season, he was among the best in the League, Connection on 37 of 41 goals on the ground (90.2%, 11th NFL), including a stellar bar 12 out of 14 on kicks beyond 50 meters. He had 26 out of 28 on Pats.
In the kick coverage department – which is more a measurement of the unit of the special teams itself – Sanders was 31st in a switch to kick -off (22.1%), 37th in yards per return (22.6%) and 24th in the average position in the opponent’s field (line of 29.9 yards). It could therefore be indicated equally that there is work to be done in this department, but it is certainly not a line of statistics worthy of liberation.
While Sanders’ game may not be considered among the list of league elite boots, it East Just there. There is certainly nothing to deplore. But if you are Miami, a team that has interrupted significant contract extensions to its main players of competence last year, every penny counts and this certainly applies to any player who only plays special teams.
And as far as Sanders are concerned, there is an argument to argue that the Dolphins can save a fairly large sum of money by advancing.
Sanders signed a contract extension of $ 22 million over five years with dolphins in 2021 with 10 million dollars guaranteed.
For 2025, the Sanders contract has a basis of $ 4 million with $ 731,500 in signature bonus in Prrata for a total ceiling of $ 4.7 million. If it was released before June 1, Miami takes a blow with $ 1.4 million in dead money, but still saves $ 3.3 million compared to the 2025 ceiling. Lighter in 2026 on his salary of $ 4.2 million would be $ 3.9 million with $ 663,000 in dead money, while 2027 is an empty year on his contract.
These savings are even more swollen if the team awaits and releases it after June 1. In short, dolphins would save an additional $ 463,000 for relief of the $ 4 million ceiling in 2000 and save an additional $ 258,150 for a total of $ 4.25 million in 26.
Recruits generally enter the League on what is called an “entry -level agreement”, the terms being four years and the salary dictated by the moment when the player has been selected. Since they are rarely selected before the seventh round, recruits specialists tend to end up with the minimum wage of $ 750,000.
In rudimentary terms, if Miami was to write a kicker in the seventh round this year, the savings would amount to around $ 3 million and $ 4 million in 2025 and 26, according to the release of Sanders. He East a significant amount.
Miami selected four kickers on the day of the draft in its history and before Sanders none in a period of 33 years.
The Dolphins chose one of their best known boots, Lefty Garo Yepremian at the Ninth Tour of the 1966 AFL draft. In 1973, they selected Mike Michel during the 17th round (!) And in 1985, they chose the product of the University of Tennessee Fuad Reveiz in the 7th round.
So, apart from the savings of potential contracts, why would this year be the one for Miami to choose a kickletter? The answer is simple: Miami has three selections in the seventh round of the 2025 recovery.
Although the choices of seventh round are generally not so difficult to abandon, they often offer teams the opportunity to look for players to help fill the list or someone with a perceived NFL default that could well turn into something. The most notable example to underline is San Francisco starting QB Brock Purdy, the 262nd and last choice of the 2022 draft.
With three choices, it makes things less painful in terms of using a choice on a botter, and also takes away the concern that the player that your team coveted with another team draw during the free period not drafted.
In 2025, three boots were widely considered as the best professional hopes – Andres Borregales (Miami), Ryan Fitzgerald (FSU) and Ben Sauls (Pittsburgh), each with potential strengths and weaknesses to consider.
Borregales’ strength lies in its precision, not being worse than a FG connection rate of 81.0% during its four years, highlighted by a 2024 season which saw it connect to 94.7% (18 out of 19) of its attempts, and was 2 for 2 beyond 50 meters (long 56).
The concerns concerning the Borregals are simple: it weighs 170 pounds and lack of power and time of time on shipping. Some teams also have concerns about kickers who play mainly in hot weather.
Fitzgerald of the Florida State will also have this climate Ding, having played five university seasons in Sun Florida. And although consistency can be a concern, Fitzgerald could be considered the rising star of the class.
Between 2020-2222, Fitzgerald was a miserable 26 out of 40 on fields in the field (65%). During his last two seasons, he had 32 out of 34 with his five attempts of more than 50 yards finding the brand and a long of 59 against Oklahoma. He prospered under pressure and is a specialist in exceptional kick -off with a huge leg which reached an average of 64.3 yards with a touch rate of 81% (34 out of 42) in 2024. He even displayed impressive games in cold weather at Notre Dame and Boston College. In addition, it can serve as a emergency bettor.
Sauls is another player with a big leg who started his career by serving only for kicks off. Like Fitzgerald, his career was a bit from top to bottom, but was punctuated by a solid 2024 campaign (21 of 24, 6 out of 7 of 50+). The cold will not be a concern, and will not have the strength of the legs either to be consistent on the kicks.
Of the three, Fitzgerald seems to be the first choice if the dolphins follow the path of the draft instead of sticking to a proven merchandise which has been with the team since he was one of those entrants of recruit eight years ago.
