Pat McAfee was nearly our 2019 Place Kicker... no, really

[Richie]

First portion of the story where he's refusing to say the team's name that he was working out with is at 4:29. Saying that he worked out with said team for a couple of MONTHS before an old knee injury blew up on him during a plane ride home. Where he says that he had been feeling very good about how things were coming along between himself and "this team".

He then reveals it to have been the Bears at 7:15. He goes into a lot of detail about how the Bears hired a kicking consultant, who used to be his individual coach. This guy threw McAfee's name into the mix as an option. Chuck Pagano vouched for his ability to place kick as well.

So, uh... that's interesting. We really broke out all of the stops, huh?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3CTikMq1R8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Moriarty]

I was underwhelmed until

On February 5, 2016, McAfee became a Guinness World Record Holder by successfully kicking a 40-yard field goal while blindfolded

Now I feel cheated

[AZ_Bearfan]

Isn't he a punter? Would this dude be capable of doing all kicking duties or something?

[wab]

Isn't he a punter? Would this dude be capable of doing all kicking duties or something?

He entered the league as a kicker and did a little of both for the Colts as a rookie in 2009.

[Richie]

Isn't he a punter? Would this dude be capable of doing all kicking duties or something?

He's probably most famous for what he's done in entertainment, his podcast and as an analyst since retiring abruptly at 29. Despite still being a perennial pro bowler.

He was a punter, yes. However, he came up as a kicker and said he practiced place kicking with Vinateri all of the time. Said he did everything with the Bears for a bit. Kicking off, punting and place kicking. Sounds like Nagy fooled around with the idea of a "Jack of all trades" experiment.

Was kind of just taken off-guard to hear that.