The Buccaneers Waived The Kicker They Traded Up To Draft In The Second Round A Year Ago

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Roberto Aguayo’s time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has come to an end. The team announced on Saturday that it had parted ways with the kicker after Aguayo missed two field goal attempts in a preseason game against Cincinnati on Friday.

This marks the end of Aguayo’s bizarre tenure in Tampa Bay. Aguayo is inarguably one of the best kickers in college football history. A three-time first-team All-American and All-ACC selection who skipped his senior year to head to the NFL, Aguayo went 69-for-78 on field goals and made all 198 PATs he attempted during his time at Florida State.

While most kickers usually have to wait until later in the draft to hear their names called or latch onto a team in free agency, Aguayo was selected by the Buccaneers in the second round with the 59th overall pick. Even more surprising was that Tampa Bay actually traded up to select him, giving up their third and fourth-round selections for Aguayo.

But like many college stars, Aguayo’s success just did not translate to the NFL. He went 22-for-31 on field goals during his rookie campaign and missed a pair of PATs, which was a far cry from being nearly automatic during his collegiate days.

Having said all of this, while Aguayo was fantastic in college, the Bucs drafting him in the second round was a head-scratching move that looks even worse now. That’s not even considering the fact that they gave up two picks in the rounds immediately following the second round to move up and select him, which really is incredible.

The good news for Aguayo is that kickers bouncing back as their careers go on isn’t unheard of, and he’s only 23, so he very well could have a long career ahead of him. For now, though, he’s going to have to convince a team that the struggles he had during his one season in Tampa Bay are something he can shake.

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