Packers Add Kickoff Weapon to Practice Squad

The Green Bay Packers signed tight end Austin Allen and kicker Matt Ammendola to the practice squad.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jan 3, 2023 5:51 PM EST

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers added a powerful kickoff leg to the practice squad – and perhaps the gameday roster – when they signed kicker Matt Ammendola on Tuesday.

The Packers had elevated Ramiz Ahmed from the practice squad so he could kickoff against the Vikings on Sunday. Instead, Ahmed suffered a groin injury during warmups so Mason Crosby had to handle those duties, as usual.

Ammendola went undrafted out of Oklahoma State in 2020. In 11 games for the New York Jets as a rookie in 2021, he made only 13-of-19 field goals (68.4 percent) but booted 27 of his 43 kickoffs for touchbacks. This season, he kicked in two games for the Kansas City Chiefs and two more for the Arizona Cardinals, and produced 12 touchbacks out of 16 kickoffs.

That’s a career touchback rate of 66.1 percent. While the Pennsylvania native hasn’t kicked in anything like the January cold of Lambeau Field, he could be a weapon in limiting opposing kickoff returners. That includes Sunday night’s must-win game against the Detroit Lions. Justin Jackson is averaging 26.9 yards per return this season.

Of 40 kickers this season with at least 16 kickoffs, Ammendola’s averages of 68.9 yards per kick rank 10th and 4.15 seconds of hangtime is tied for fifth, according to Pro Football Focus. Crosby ranks 37th and 40th in those categories, respectively.

In his NFL debut with the Jets, punter Braden Mann was injured and Ammendola had to do double duty. He averaged almost 50 yards on six punts, including a 65-yarder.

"I've never punted in a game before," Ammendola told reporters a day later. "No, I never punted in high school, never in college. It was icing on the cake, my first NFL game to go out and punt, it was definitely a changeup for sure."

Ammendola grew up playing soccer. Before his junior year of high school, the football coach persuaded him to join the team.

“I gave it a shot and ended up doing really well my junior year and got a few teams looking at me, smaller colleges,” he said. “Then I went to a camp in Pittsburgh and that is when Oklahoma State reached out to me. I took a visit and fell in love with the place.”

And if the Packers ever need someone to do a trick shot, Ammendola’s their guy.

The Packers also signed tight end Austin Allen the practice squad. Allen is an undrafted rookie who spent training camp with the Giants and the first six weeks of the season on their practice squad.

At 6-foot-7 5/8, Allen is an imposing target. A full-time starter for the first time as a senior, he set career highs with 38 receptions, 602 yards (15.8 average) and two touchdowns to be voted the Big Ten’s tight end of the year.

Allen figured basketball would be his ticket in sports. He was an all-state player who got some Division I looks. However, it dawned on him that 6-foot-8 in basketball isn’t incredibly tall.

“Dalton Peters was one of my teammates in high school and he was probably the hardest worker I ever met,” Allen told Hail Varsity. “His dad was a coach. It was after the first game of the season, I had two interceptions and three total touchdowns versus the team and they pulled me aside and said, ‘You’re going to play college football.’ I shrugged them off and said, ‘You’re crazy, I’m going to play college basketball.’

“Midway through the season I started getting letters from these schools, and I went back to them and said, ‘You guys are wizards. How’d you know that?’ But they saw something I didn’t, and I had a pretty good junior year that led me to the offers.”