According to our fellow SB Nation blog site, Gang Green Nation and The Newark Star-Ledger, free agent kicker Jay Feely reportedly has agreed to terms on a two-year contract to become the new kicker of the Arizona Cardinals. From the Star-Ledger:
Unrestricted free agent kicker Jay Feely has agreed to terms on a two-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on behalf of either side.
Feely had a fairly good season in '09, hitting 30 of his 36 field goals, while missing just three from 40 yards or longer. He has been consistent over his career as well, matching or increasing his 80% success rate over the past six seasons (total of 179 field goal attempts).
Update: Jay Feely confirmed the signing on his twitter account:
I am officially an Arizona Cardinal!! Very excited to head to the desert with former teammates @kerryrhodes and Joey Porter.
Ken Whisenhunt responded to the change at kicker
“When you get to free agency and we have no kickers on the roster, that’s an unsettling feeling for the organization,” Whisenhunt said. “We attempted to sign Neil. We were forced to move on to the next guy when we couldn’t get anything done. Not that we didn’t think Neil could do it, but we had been working in negotiations and hadn’t made a lot of progress.”
Feely will be replacing Neil Rackers, who was famous for his pooch and onside kicks - often catching opposing teams off guard. He was also a fairly accurate kicker when not injured(somewhat often), making 161 of his 195 field goals (82.5 success rate). However, when the game was on the line, Rackers struggled - becoming the primary reason the team is parting ways. What are your thoughts on the new signing?