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Just days after cutting former Jaguars and Steelers kicker Josh Scobee, the New Orleans Saints have quickly filled the competition void at kicker by reportedly signing former Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker, Connor Barth.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the signing via Twitter:
Former Broncos and Bucs kicker Connor Barth is on his way to New Orleans to sign with Saints, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 20, 2016
We knew this was coming. The Saints had an open roster spot after releasing Josh Scobee Tuesday, leaving only Kai Forbath at placekicker. No way Forbath had just won the starting spot outright before training camp even started.
Barth is a solid veteran kicker who has spent the majority of his 8 year NFL career with the Bucs, including last season. He was released from Tampa after they used their second round pick on a kicker last month. Barth has a career field goal percentage of 84.8% and his career long is 57 yards (2012). Last season, he had a FG percentage of 82.1% and his longest kick came from 53 yards. He also missed the first and only PAT of his career in 2015, but was perfect at FG attempts within 40 yards.
I like the Connor Barth signing, he should provide much better competition for current kicker Kai Forbath than the aforementioned Scobee. I had hoped the Saints would have picked up Barth last offseason, during the Zack Hocker/Dustin Hopkins debacle, but he resigned in Tampa after a short stint in Denver.
Now the Saints will have a more proven kicker on the roster, and a battle between two veterans at kicker should prove more fruitful than what the team experienced last offseason. It would be surprising not to see Barth win the job outright before the season begins, but for now we'll wait and see.
Here are Barth's career stats:
| Overall FGs | 20-29 Yards | 30-39 Yards | 40-49 Yards | 50+ Yards | PAT | ||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | G | Blk | Lng | FGM | FG Att | Pct | M | Att | Pct | M | Att | Pct | M | Att | Pct | M | Att | Pct | XP Att | XPM | Pct | Blk |
| 2015 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 12 | 0 | 53 | 23 | 28 | 82.1 | 9 | 9 | 100.0 | 8 | 8 | 100.0 | 3 | 6 | 50.0 | 3 | 5 | 60.0 | 26 | 25 | 96.2 | 0 |
| 2014 | Denver Broncos | 5 | 0 | 50 | 15 | 16 | 93.8 | 4 | 4 | 100.0 | 5 | 5 | 100.0 | 3 | 4 | 75.0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 15 | 15 | 100.0 | 0 |
| 2012 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 15 | 1 | 57 | 28 | 33 | 84.8 | 7 | 7 | 100.0 | 3 | 4 | 75.0 | 12 | 13 | 92.3 | 6 | 9 | 66.7 | 39 | 39 | 100.0 | 0 |
| 2011 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 16 | 0 | 55 | 26 | 28 | 92.9 | 5 | 5 | 100.0 | 6 | 6 | 100.0 | 13 | 14 | 92.9 | 2 | 3 | 66.7 | 23 | 23 | 100.0 | 0 |
| 2010 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 16 | 2 | 53 | 23 | 28 | 82.1 | 6 | 6 | 100.0 | 10 | 10 | 100.0 | 6 | 10 | 60.0 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 36 | 36 | 100.0 | 0 |
| 2009 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 9 | 0 | 54 | 14 | 19 | 73.7 | 2 | 2 | 100.0 | 4 | 6 | 66.7 | 5 | 7 | 71.4 | 3 | 4 | 75.0 | 12 | 12 | 100.0 | 0 |
| 2008 | Kansas City Chiefs | 10 | 0 | 45 | 10 | 12 | 83.3 | 6 | 6 | 100.0 | 3 | 4 | 75.0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 24 | 24 | 100.0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 83 | 3 | 57 | 139 | 164 | 84.8 | 39 | 39 | 100.0 | 39 | 43 | 90.7 | 43 | 55 | 78.2 | 16 | 25 | 64.0 | 175 | 174 | 99.4 | 0 | |
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