After years of being stable at the kicker position with Sebastian Janikowski, the Raiders were in the wilderness for a while when it came to the kicking game.
Giorgio Tavecchio had a decent season in 2017, but Oakland still made it an open competition going into camp starting with rookie Eddy Pineiro and later Mike Nugent. It seemed like Pineiro was primed to take the job after Oakland waived Tavecchio, but a groin injury ended his season before it even started. Nugent and Matthew McCrane would fill in admirably, but it turned out the real answer to Oakland’s woes wasn’t on the roster yet.
Because out in Minnesota, Daniel Carlson was being cut by the Vikings after missing 3 field goals in week 2 against the Packers which helped to end the game in a tie. Perhaps Minnesota just has a bad aura when it comes to kickers because once Jon Gruden brought Carlson in, he flipped the switch and became the most consistent player on the Oakland roster.
Expectations
I doubt there was really any expectations for Carlson when the Raiders brought him in, as stated before he was coming off a miserable stint in Minnesota so there wasn’t much evidence things would change.
However, the amount of pressure put on Carlson to save the Viking’s special teams woes could overwhelm the rookie. A fresh slate for a team that did not put so much pressure on him was an ideal situation.
Reality
Carlson ended up being amazing for the Raiders making every single extra point and all but one field goal he took for the team. He shook off the trauma of his time in Minnesota to finish 2018 with a 94% success rate for Oakland which was the highest conversion rate for any kicker in the team’s history.
It is fair to say that absolutely no one saw this coming from him and in a season filled with disappointment he became a definite bright spot.
Looking Ahead
The Raiders and Carlson will no doubt work out a deal given the season he had and the fact that he is an exclusive rights free agent so he can only negotiate with the Raiders.
With all the holes this team has to fill it is nice to see that Carlson is part of the solution moving forward. Especially since he was left for dead after week two of the season by Minnesota, who kicking troubles did not improve after cutting Carlson.