Cardinals sign K Matt Ammendola to practice squad with Matt Prater dinged up
Oct 4, 2022, 11:46 AM | Updated: 4:12 pm
The Arizona Cardinals signed free agent kicker Matt Ammendola to the practice squad Tuesday, providing depth while Matt Prater resolves a hip injury that cropped up last week, reports ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Arizona on Monday reportedly worked out a host of kickers: Ammendola, Rodrigo Blankenship, Jose Borregales and Jonathan Garibay, according to Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson.
The Philadelphia Eagles, who the Cardinals are hosting on Sunday, find themselves in a similar kicking situation with their kicker Jake Elliot.
Kicker Cameron Dicker is being signed to the Eagles practice squad, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Ammendola has spent time with the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs since entering the NFL in 2021.
He appeared in two games this season for the Chiefs in place of injured starter Harrison Butker.
Ammendola went 3-of-4 on field goals, missing one from 34 yards. He also missed an extra point in four tries.
A year prior in 11 appearances for the Jets, Ammendola went 13-of-19 on field goals, missing all three of his attempts from 50 or more yards and going 2-of-5 from 40-49 yards.
Prater hit two field goals in a 26-16 win against the Panthers on Sunday but midway through the game ceded kickoff duties to running back Eno Benjamin.
“He’s a little sore today,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Monday. “We’ll see how it goes throughout the week, but he really toughed it out for those couple of kicks and kicked really well until he couldn’t any longer. Eno came in and did what he could.
“I just appreciate Matt pushing through,” the head coach added. “He didn’t feel great all week and just kind of rested until the game and made a couple big kicks that we needed when we were struggling offensively and kicked off really well.”
