The Raiders have fielded the same kicker and punter for the past seven years. They’ve had the same kicking trio the past three years: kicker Daniel Carlson, punter AJ Cole and long kicker Jacob Bobenmoyer. But it looks like the trio may part ways this offseason.
Cole received a long-term contract extension before last season. Meanwhile, Carlson and Boben Moyer are both set to become free agents this March. The team has every opportunity to re-sign one or both of them. Just like they did with Cole, but they chose not to.
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If the team were to sign Carlson back, you’d have to think they’d sign Bobon Moyer as well, just to maintain continuity in the band.
The team signed long snapper Alex Ward to a reserve/futures contract on Tuesday, signaling that they’re prepared to let Bobon Moyer go, which in turn signaled that they’re prepared to let Karlsson go, too.
Ward spent the past three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. He was waived last November, which is why he’s now signed with the Raiders instead of preparing for the NFC Championship Game.
The three-year veteran was undrafted out of Central Florida, where he served as a three-year reliever.
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There’s no guarantee that he’ll be the team’s long snapper going forward, but the very fact that they added him is a sign that the position is about to change.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders’ latest signing could signal end of long-term kicking team
