Seahawks could fix kicker problem by signing Stephen Gostkowski

The Seahawks have an issue at kicker. They could fix the issue by signing Stephen Gostkowski.

The Seahawks have had problems at kicker ever since they let Stephen Hauschka walk away. Even in Hauschka’s final year in Seattle the kicking wasn’t great because he missed six extra points. The last two seasons Seattle has seen one-year rentals Blair Walsh (2017) and Sebastian Janikowski (2018) be anywhere from bad to mediocre. Seattle could fix a special teams issue long-term by signing free agent Stephen Gostkowski.

Gostkowski did not receive a franchise tag from the New England Patriots this offseason so the kicker is free to sign anywhere. He very easily could re-sign with New England and play the rest of his career there. Gostkowski isn’t cheap, though, and the Patriots might decide to move on without him.

Seattle might not want to spend nearly $5 million on a kicker, but that is what Gostkowski earned in 2018. The issue is that the last couple of seasons, and especially when Walsh was with the Seahawks, kickers have hurt Seattle. In fact, Walsh was a big reason the team didn’t make the playoffs in 2017.

Seattle, though, does have some money to spend this offseason. Of course, they don’t and won’t go on some wild spending spree, but signing the consistently good Gostkowski would be a wise investment. The kicker will be 35 years old in the 2019 season but kickers can be productive for several years beyond that age.

Gostkowski has missed just three kicks inside 40 yards since 2013. That kind of reliability is something Seattle has lacked for three seasons. Seattle has a young team that should improve over the coming years. One way to make sure the Seahawks fulfill their potential is by a consistently good special teams. Signing Gostkowski would go a long way towards making special teams a strength again instead of a source of concern.