Cowboys turn to Nugent
Garrett says Bailey will miss ‘at least a couple of weeks.’
The Cowboys were FRISCO — faced with a daunting question after Sunday’s win at San Francisco: How do they replace the most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history?
They found their answer Tuesday by signing a player who ranks No. 40 on the alltime accuracy list.
The Cowboys signed 13-year veteran Mike Nugent to replace Dan Bailey. Nugent outperformed two other kickers — Jason Myers and Sam Irwin-Hill — during a workout Tuesday at The Star.
Bailey strained his right groin in the second quarter against the 49ers while kicking into a net to warm up on the sideline. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Monday that Bailey will miss “at least a couple of weeks.”
Bailey, a Pro Bowler in 2015, might not return until the final month of the season. The Cowboys hope that Nugent can fill the void until Bailey is healthy.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday on “The Fan” KRLD-FM (105.3) that when Bailey returns he may handle field goal attempts at first and not kickoffs right away.
Safety Jeff Heath filled in admirably for Bailey. But the Cowboys needed to add an experienced kicker with a crucial part of their schedule coming up.
Nugent has made 80.8 percent of his 292 career field goal attempts. Bailey’s alltime best mark is 89.9 percent.
Nugent, 35, was the 47th overall pick of the 2005 draft out of Ohio State, where he twice earned All-America honors. He spent his first four seasons with the Jets before short stints with Tampa Bay and Arizona. The previous seven seasons he played for the Bengals.
The Bengals released Nugent in December after he missed his sixth extra point try of the season. Nugent, who was 23 of 29 on field goal attempts last season, set Bengals records in 2011 with 132 points and 33 field goals made.
Life without Bailey, who has been near automatic since his 2011 rookie season, could prove challenging.
“We have a long history with Dan, a history of success,” Garrett said. “There’s no question it will be a little bit different in some way.”
Nugent certainly has big shoes to fill.
Bailey has made all seven of his field goal attempts this season. And he’s been one of the best clutch kickers in the league.
Bailey has made 23 consecutive field goals in the fourth quarter or overtime dating to Week 5 of 2014 against Houston. What’s more: He’s made 39 of 40 field goal tries in the fourth quarter or overtime since Week 6 of 2012.
Bailey has missed only three field goal attempts in his career of less than 47 yards (and one was blocked).
Cowboys punter Chris Jones is the holder for Bailey. He also was the holder Tuesday during the workouts for the three kickers.
Chris Jones said it will be different without Bailey, but he doesn’t expect a lot will change setting the ball up for a new kicker.
“If anything, some guys want a different lean on the ball, minor things,” Chris Jones said. “The big thing is just learning the rhythm, getting him involved, seeing snaps from L.P. (Ladouceur) and holds from me and adapting through that.”
“This will be the first time that (Bailey) hasn’t been in the mix with me. We’ll kind of see how it goes.”
The Cowboys have five NFC East games remaining. Those division clashes against the Redskins, Eagles and Giants usually are close games.
Not having Bailey, who is 51 for 55 in his career on field goal tries after the third quarter, certainly won’t be good for Garrett’s blood pressure.
“He’s a great kicker,” Garrett said of Bailey. “He’s as reliable a guy doing his job as we have on our team, and his job is really, really important. He’s won a lot of games for us through the years.”