Matt Ammendola somehow finds new place to land after Chiefs release

KANSAS CITY, MO - SEPTEMBER 15: Matt Ammendola #19 of the Kansas City Chiefs kicks off during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium on September 15, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - SEPTEMBER 15: Matt Ammendola #19 of the Kansas City Chiefs kicks off during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium on September 15, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)

Former Kansas City Chiefs kicker Matt Ammendola is reportedly going to be Arizona Cardinals kicker Matt Ammendola. Somehow.

Matt Ammendola didn’t just get a new opportunity to try out for an NFL. He also landed the job with the Arizona Cardinals.

To be clear, we’re happy for him and anyone who earns the chance to further their dreams of playing professional football. So few persons can achieve such a goal—none of us here writing about these things even come close—so Ammendola deserves plenty of credit at least in that way. But with all of that said… how in the world?

Ammendola is no longer employed by the Kansas City Chiefs because he wasn’t reliable in any way—on field goals or extra points—and the thought of using him made the coaches so nervous that they resorted to trickery and Tommy Townsend’s gunslinging arm. He was single-legedly responsible for the Chiefs’ lone loss of the season in Week 3 to the Indianapolis Colts, and his record wasn’t even good before signing in K.C. in the first place.

At this point, maybe it’s important to note that the Cardinals are just noticing the “ex-Chiefs kicker” and trusting that description. We can’t blame them. Kansas City has, up until Ammendola, become known as a place to get your kickers. Ryan Succop has been a steady kicker for several seasons after leaving the Chiefs. Cairo Santos is still the man in Chicago. Harrison Butker is the man in charge these days, and he’s going to be a very good kicker for a very long time.

When a franchise has Jan Stenerud in their Ring of Honor, you know they respect the specialist game, but Ammendola should not be, in any way, a part of that lineage. He was the anomaly, the outlier, the quickly replaced hiccup that ruined the season’s first quarter for a bright young team. Surely the Cardinals actually watched his work with the Chiefs, right?

Then again, maybe the Cardinals are still smarting from that Week 1 beatdown at the hands of the Chiefs and they’ll do anything they can to be a part of something special. And if Ammendola has learned how to pitch his skills without having his stint in K.C. hang over his head—well, more power to him.

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