Titan Sized
FanSided

Tennessee Titans: It’s time to pull the plug on Ryan Succop

By Benjamin Mott

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 10: Kicker Ryan Succop #4 of the Tennessee Titans is consoled by teammates after missing an extra point during the first half of a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Nissan Stadium on November 10, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 10: Kicker Ryan Succop #4 of the Tennessee Titans is consoled by teammates after missing an extra point during the first half of a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Nissan Stadium on November 10, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Tennessee Titans kicker Ryan Succop has struggled since returning in Week 9, and it may be time for his season to come to an end.

Tennessee Titans kicker Ryan Succop is having one of the roughest stretches of his eleven-year NFL career.

Since returning from injured reserve after needing extra time to rehab from offseason knee surgery that cost him the first eight games of the season, Succop has looked horrible so far.

On field goals, he is one-of-five, with his only successful attempt being a 31-yard field goal against the Colts in Week 13. His misses include a 42-yard field goal attempt that bounced off of the left upright on the final play of the first half against the Raiders on Sunday.

Luckily, that miss didn’t cost the team a win, as the Titans put up 21 unanswered points to defeat the Raiders in the second half. However, sooner or later, those misses are going to loom large.

In just his first game back in Week 9, he missed three field goals in a 30-20 loss to the Carolina Panthers. One of those misses came on the final drive of the game with 47 seconds remaining. Had he have made that kick, the Titans would have had a chance at an onside kick recovery, and with that much time remaining, anything could have been possible.

As far as kickoffs go, it is the same story. Only 3 of his 17 kickoffs this season have resulted in touchbacks. His 17.6 percent touchback rate is the lowest rate since the NFL moved kickoffs from the 30-yard line to the 35-yard line. It got so bad that the Titans had to sign Ryan Santoso to handle kickoffs and longer field goals.

The Titans, sitting at 8-5, cannot afford to have issues at the kicker position continue to hamper them. I’m not saying that  Succop is still hampered by the knee injury that kept him out for half of the season, but rather it would behoove the team to at the very least place him back on injured reserve.

Succop still has three more years left on his contract, so releasing him outright may not exactly be practical, especially considering it would result in the Titans losing money $1.35 million to go along with $4.55 million in dead cap.

I think Succop should be given a chance to come back next season and prove that his struggles this year have been mainly due to his knee not being ready since he has been great in the previous six seasons with the Titans.

That being said, if the Titans want to avoid losing a close game because of a missed kick,  Ryan Succop should not be allowed to kick the rest of the season.

Home/Titans News