This offseason has been one full of transition for the Bucs and while changes at some positions have taken the majority of everyone’s focus, there’s a pretty significant transition happening in the kicking game.

While Tampa Bay released veteran Ryan Succop and signed Chase McLaughlin back in March, the team is still exploring its options as the season approaches. On that front, the Bucs are hosting free agent kicker Rodrigo Blankenship on a minicamp tryout this week, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday morning.

As Rapoport tweeted, Blankenship underwent surgery in January to repair a torn muscle in his leg. Now healthy, the former Georgia Bulldog is drawing interest from a number of teams.

Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship Photo By: USA Today

Blankenship, known widely for the specs he’s worn throughout his collegiate and NFL careers, began his pro football journey with the Colts, going 32-of-37 (86.5%) on field goals in 2020 while connecting on 43 of his 45 (95.6%) extra point attempts.

Blankenship was limited to five games in 2021 due to a hip injury. In those five games, he went 11-of-14 (78.6%) on field goals and 7-of-8 (87.5%) on extra points.

After finishing 2-for-3 and missing a potential 42-yard game-winning field goal in Indianapolis’ 2022 season opener, Blankenship was waived. He went on to Arizona, where he was 2-of-2 on field goals and 2-of-3 on extra point attempts before being waived with an injury settlement.

Now, Blankenship finds himself looking for his third team. It very well could be the Bucs, given their kicking situation.

Bucs Are Looking For More Distance From New Kicker

Former Bucs K Ryan Succop – Photo by: USA Today

One of the big reasons the Bucs are looking for a new kicker is the lack of leg strength from veteran Ryan Succop. As reliable as he was for the Bucs inside of 50 yards, he didn’t have the power to connect on longer field goals. He was just 2-of-7 (28.6%) on field goals from 50-plus yards last year and distance is something Tampa Bay needs more of in 2023.

Early this offseason, head coach Todd Bowles made it pretty clear that the team would be moving on from Succop, citing the need for longer field goals.

“Ryan was very efficient this year, but we’ve got to be able to kick longer field goals than we’ve kicked,” Bowles said. “I think we’ve got to get past 47 yards, be able to kick from 50, 55 yards as well.”

General manager Jason Licht was a little less revealing of the Bucs’ kicking plans when speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine.

“Well yeah, in a perfect world, we’d like to have [Ryan] Succop to make some long kicks too, but he is pretty darn accurate inside of 50 [yards], so that’s also very valuable too,” Licht said.

Nonetheless, the Bucs moved on from Succop after three seasons. Now, they’re looking for the right mix of accuracy and distance from their new kicker.

The team signed McLaughlin to a veteran minimum deal this offseason. He is 17-of-21 (81%) on field goals from 50 yards and beyond in his career, including a 9-of-12 (75%) mark last year.

Blankenship’s sample size is a little more limited, as he’s 2-of-5 (40%) from 50-plus yards in his career. His career field goal percentage of 83.9% is better than McLaughlin’s 78.8% mark, but he has attempted 29 fewer kicks in his career.

Either way, the Bucs certainly aren’t tied to McLaughlin financially and could be eyeing Blankenship as another camp leg who would have a strong opportunity to win the kicking job in the preseason. Whoever wins, though, Tampa Bay will have to hope it doesn’t regret parting ways with Succop, especially given its recent history with kicking struggles — struggles that Succop largely put a stop to.