Jaguars Sign K Matthew Wright to Practice Squad, Release Phillip Dorsett and Designate Tavon Austin to Return
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a new kicker in town -- sort of.
The Jaguars announced on Monday the team signed former UCF and Pittsburgh kicker Matthew Wright to the practice squad. This comes just one day after incumbent kicker Josh Lambo missed two of his extra point attempts. On top of the two missed PATs, Lambo is also 0-for-3 on field goals this season, putting the pressure on the Jaguars to find new blood at kicker before their 0-3 season gets even worse.
"On Lambo, I made that comment, man, he's the hardest working specialist I've ever had, but it's also a reality we're now missing extra points," Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer said following Sunday's 31-19 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
"I'm not sure what we're going to do, but I'm like everybody, I want to see him make it because he works so damn hard on it."
A former three-star kicker recruit, Wright is arguably the greatest kicker in UCF history and had success in limited action with the Steelers. Wright is UCF's record holder for most points in a career with 375, for made field goals with 55, for PATs with 212 (153 in a row), and is tied for the all-time record on field goal percentage with .774% after making 55-of-71 field goals. Wright made 210-of-213 (.985) extra points during his UCF career.
At the NFL level, Wright has been similarly consistent. Wright appeared in three games with the Steelers in 2020, making all four of his field goals and all seven of his extra points. He made two field goals of 40 yards or longer, with a career-long of 46. The Jaguars still have Lambo on the roster, but Wright gives them a semi-experienced leg who they can call up to replace Lambo if needed.
Along with the move to sign Wright, the Jaguars also released wide receiver Phillip Dorsett from the practice squad to make room on the roster. Dorsett spent the first two games of the season on Jacksonville's practice squad after dealing with a hamstring injury during training camp that led to him being released during roster cut downs.
Dorsett played in the Jaguars' loss to Arizona, seeing one target and recording zero catches for zero yards.
Jacksonville did make one positive receiver move on Monday, however, designating veteran receiver Tavon Austin to return to the active roster. Austin missed the first three games of the season after a quad injury landed him on injured reserve. Considering Austin has the most similar skill set to Travis Etienne, he will likely see immediate playing time once he returns to the field.
At any time after the conclusion of the third game after the date upon which a player was placed on Reserve/Injured or Reserve/Non-Football Injury/Illness, the club is permitted to return him to practice for a period not to exceed 21 calendar days. Clubs are required to notify the League office on the first day of such 21-day practice period and the player must be “Designated For Return” at that time. A club is permitted to return him to its Active/Inactive List at any time during the 21-day period prior to 4:00 p.m. ET on the day after the conclusion of the 21-day period. If the player is not returned to the Active/Inactive List prior to 4:00 p.m. ET on the day after the conclusion of the 21-day period, the player cannot return to that club’s Active/Inactive List for the remainder of the season, including postseason.
