Colts sign kickers Chase McLaughlin, Lucas Havrisik to compete for job

INDIANAPOLIS — For the second time this season, the Colts have a kicking competition on their hands.

This one has to happen a lot faster.

Indianapolis is signing former Colts kicker Chase McLaughlin and rookie Lucas Havrisik to the practice squad, a league source told IndyStar on Tuesday, and will likely elevate one to the active roster before Sunday’s game in Jacksonville to replace Rodrigo Blankenship, who was waived on Tuesday. Here's what you need to know:

McLaughlin is a familiar face to the Colts

A whirlwind of a rookie season ultimately brought McLaughlin to Indianapolis to relieve an injured and ineffective Adam Vinatieri at the end of the 2019 season. McLaughlin made 5 of 6 field goals and all 11 extra points for the Colts in the final four games that season, earning a shot at the full-time job in 2020.

Ironically, McLaughlin lost a training camp competition to Blankenship in 2020, sending him criss-crossing the NFL again after kicking for five different teams — three as an injury replacement in the regular season — as a rookie. McLaughlin made 4 of 5 field goals and 5 of 6 extra points in stints with the Jaguars and Jets in 2020, then took over as Cleveland’s kicker early in the 2021 season and made 15 of 21 field goals, along with 36 of 37 extra points.

The Browns cut McLaughlin in May after spending a fourth-round pick on rookie kicker Cade York.

McLaughlin has kicked for 8 NFL teams

McLaughlin has kicked for eight different NFL teams, making 75.5% of his field goals, 97.1% of his extra points and 8 of 9 field goals from 50 yards or more, one of the places that Blankenship struggled most. Blankenship made just 1 of 5 field goals from more than 50 yards in three seasons in Indianapolis.

Havrisik looking for first NFL kick

The other competitor now in the Colts locker room is still looking for his first field goal of any kind in the NFL.

Havrisik, an undrafted rookie out of Arizona, tried out at the Colts’ rookie minicamp in May, but the team ultimately decided to stick with a competition between Blankenship and former Ravens kicker Jake Verity, a competition Blankenship won handily.

The rookie made just 64.2% of his kicks in college — his best season was 85.7% in 2020 — but he has a strong leg. Arizona used Havrisik as its long kick and kickoff specialist in 2021.

Kickoffs are a significant part of this competition

Indianapolis lost its original kickoff specialist, punter Rigoberto Sanchez, to a torn Achilles tendon in training camp, forcing Blankenship and any new kicker on the roster into the role. Matt Haack, the team’s replacement for Sanchez, is not considered an option as a kickoff specialist, according to coach Frank Reich.

Both Havrisik and McLaughlin have the leg for the role, and the experience for a role that demands a lot of versatility.

“There are games where we’re looking to force returns, there are games where we’re looking for touchbacks, there are games where I’m telling the kicker to give me a good ball with hang time, and I don’t care where it goes,” Colts special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone said. “Everything is per game plan and specific to who we’re playing, conditions, weather, all the variables that play into it.”

Indianapolis tried out McLaughlin and Havrisik among a group of veteran kickers that included former Jaguars Josh Lambo and Matthew Wright, former Saints fill-in Brian Johnson and USFL kicker Austin Jones, plus another former Colts replacement in Michael Badgley, who made 18 of 21 kicks for Indianapolis in relief of Blankenship last season

From the sounds of it, the tryout will continue the rest of this week.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Chase McLaughlin, Lucas Havrisik to compete to be new Colts kicker