The Tennessee Titans decided to make a change at kicker last offseason upon hiring John "Bones" Fassel as special teams coordinator. Fassel was involved in the process of signing Joey Slye in free agency to replace Nick Folk. Now, the Titans have another difficult decision to make at kicker this offseason.
Fassel and the Titans wanted a bigger leg for distance kicking purposes. Slye arrived having made 26 career kicks from 50-plus yards. The ability to convert from distance was on display for the Titans, as Slye connected on a career-high nine field goals from 50 yards or further.
Slye was also occasionally inconsistent, reflected throughout his journeyman-type career. A new kicking metric was recently introduced by FanSided. Kick Value Added (KVA) adds much-needed context to the discussion surrounding Slye this offseason.
New kicking metric indicates Titans can do better than K Joey Slye
KVA is a brand-new, proprietary metric designed to revolutionize how we evaluate NFL kicking performances. Instead of treating all makes and misses equally, KVA measures how much value a kicker actually adds (or costs) relative to league expectations from the same distances across the field. It adds nuance to the evaluation.
Of the 43 kickers who attempted a single field goal/extra point in 2025, Slye placed 25th according to the metric with a KVA score of -0.4954.
"Joey Slye struggled with field goals far more than PATs, failing to send the ball through the uprights from 41, 43, 50, 52, 58, 62, and 64 yards," Adam Fromal wrote. "He did, however, cement a victory over the Arizona Cardinals with a 29-yarder that served as the first game-winning field goal of his career."
Slye ended the season 28-of-35 on attempts for a conversation rate of 80%. New Titans head coach Robert Saleh retained Fassel as special teams coordinator, which increases Slye's chances of returning next season despite his expiring contract. Among kickers who attempted at least 25 field goals, his 80% hit-rate tied for 20th best in the NFL. That's pretty average.
The Titans value Slye's strong leg and Fassel may prefer continuity on special teams. Eddy Pineiro and Jake Moody are among the top pending free agents, but it would be surprising if any top kicker actually reached the open market. KVA indicates the Titans can do better than Slye, but he may return in 2026 given his connection to Fassel.