WFT releases Chris Blewitt and sign a kicker with ties to Rivera originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Chris Blewitt Era for the Washington Football Team is over.
It lasted two games.
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On Tuesday, the franchise announced that it had released Blewitt, who had been picked a few weeks ago to replace longtime kicker Dustin Hopkins.
To replace Blewitt, meanwhile, Washington has signed Joey Slye, a specialist with ties to Ron Rivera.
Blewitt's time with the Burgundy and Gold was equal parts underwhelming and mesmerizing. Three of his five field goal attempts failed to make it over the line of scrimmage, but even so, Rivera told the media ahead of the bye week that he intended to stick with him.
However, after having Slye work out on Monday, Rivera has clearly changed his mind. And though the coach has waffled on certain things in a way that's frustrating, this one feels right.
As for Slye, he served as the Panthers kicker in 2019 and 2020, so he overlapped with Rivera a bit in Carolina. In his two seasons there, he went 54-of-68 on field goal tries (79%) and 64-of-71 on PATs (90%).
This year, the 25-year-old has suited up for both the Texans and the 49ers for a total of six games. He went 11-of-13 on three-pointers for those two clubs but just 9-of-12 on extra points.
Going off of those numbers, Slye could certainly leave a bit to be desired in Washington. That said, coming in after Blewitt might be the softest landing spot a pro kicker could ever ask for. He'll make his debut for the team this Sunday against the Bucs.
