Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey reveals he had appendix surgery day after Pro Bowl

Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey has revealed that he underwent surgery to remove his appendix the day after the Pro Bowl, but he feels on track for the team’s offseason work, saying his return to kicking action has been like “riding a bike.”

The 29-year-old former soccer star had a fairytale first season in Dallas. After rolling off back-to-back USFL championships, he immediately joined the Cowboys and connected on a record 35 field goals to begin his NFL career, was the first kicker in league history to make two field goals of 59 or more yards in the same game, led the entire league in scoring, and was named a first-team All-Pro.

He was also voted to the Pro Bowl, but his visit to Las Vegas to represent the NFC was plagued by a sudden bout of abdominal pain. According to Nick Harris of the official team website, Aubrey took antibiotics to get through the week’s festivities before having an appendectomy the day after the game.

Aubrey narrowly lost the Kick-Tac-Toe competition to Baltimore’s Justin Tucker leading up to the game, and then he took a six-week break from kicking following his surgery. It was his first real time off since before the Birmingham Stallions’ 2023 season, which started last April.

“Had some forced rest,” he explained to reporters at Wednesday night’s charity Home Run Derby event in Frisco. “Went on vacation a couple times, hung out with the family, made the most of it.”

Now Aubrey is getting himself back in the swing of things as the Cowboys’ offseason program continues, but in addition to his normal field goal duties, the specialist known as “Butter” is also working on fine-tuning his booming kickoffs for the new rules that will be in effect this fall.

“We’re in the workshop right now,” he said. “Hang time is a little less important now, with [other players] not being able to move until it’s caught. So we’re in the workshop, we’re going to have a few things. Don’t want to really give too much away because [we] don’t know what’s going to stick and what’s going to be in the trash can by the time the season rolls around.”

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Aubrey believes his extensive soccer background will help him prioritize placement over power.

“You get to work with hitting the ball in different ways, putting my foot on the ball in slightly different spots with different parts of my foot, maybe wrapping my foot around it,” he acknowledged. “I think it will help. Going out on the soccer field and workshopping is a skill that I’ve taken with me to this kickoff.”

Aubrey joked that the new rules might even save a couple years’ worth of wear and tear on his leg.

Good thing, since he’ll already be down another body part this season.

Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire