The Jags New Kicker Has Never Attempted A Field Goal In A Game….EVER!

The Jacksonville Jaguars find themselves in an interesting position at kicker for today’s home game against the Detroit Lions. Jon Brown, who has never attempted a field goal in a game, will handle the kicking duties. Let me repeat that again, Jon Brown has never attempted a field goal in a game EVER, according to Adam Schefter.

Brown, who is a kickoff specialist, is the fifth kicker the Jags have trotted out this season. Brown replaces Stephen Hauschka, who missed two field goals (24 & 49 yards) during a Week 5 loss to the Texans.  While it’s not unheard of to miss a 49-yard attempt, Hauschka was destroyed for coming up short on the 49-yard miss against the Texans.

Jags kicker Aldrick Rosas, who was four of 5 on field goals, was placed on the injured list October 9 which led to Hauschka getting an opportunity. Josh Lambo started the year as the team’s kicker, but he was placed on injured reserve with a hip injury.

Brown played soccer at Kentucky, transferred to Louisville during his junior season and switched to kicking a football.

“Everybody just turned around and looked at me like I was crazy,” Brown said of his time at Bengals rookie camp in 2016. “The special teams coach [Darrin Simmons] just started laughing. I get that same reaction every time I tell someone what I play. You play corner? Slot? Nope. I tell them I kick, and they just stare at me.”

That’s right, Brown is a black kicker and it’s not lost on him how rare that is in the NFL. This isn’t some social justice moment for the NFL. The Jags need a damn kicker and Brown’s the next guy up. Now we’re about to see how long he lasts in the NFL. He’ll be dealing with 10-20mph winds and partly cloudy conditions.

“We worked him out, he looked good, and [I] guess we’ll just have to see when he goes out there on Sunday,” Jags coach Doug Marrone said this week. “But there’s a difference. I think that the one thing about that position that I’ve kind of learned through my experience is you can go out there and look good in practice but I think it’s a whole different ballgame when you go out there on a Sunday and then the pressure [be]comes involved.”