Kicker Roulette

Am I the only one amused by the recent turns of the NFL placekicker carousel?

The NFL pre-season is the very definition of tedious and unnecessary, but this recent kicker movement has been downright riveting.

Lets take a look, shall we?

Exhibit A: Dan Carpenter

Dan was released by Miami on 14 August after losing the starting gig to rookie Caleb Sturgis. Then the real fun began. The very next week, Carpenter was picked up by Arizona to provide competition for Jay Feely. Four days later, he was released.

Try to breathe normally.

Two days after that, he signed on with the Jets, only to be released yet again four days later. Then, four more days passed, and the Bills picked up Carpenter to -- at least temporarily -- replace the injured Dustin Hopkins. Apparently, he was even going to try out with Cleveland before signing with Buffalo. Four teams in three weeks, kids.

And the wheels on the bus go round and round.

Here are two more subjects with not quite the same recent mileage as Dan Carpenter but are part of the carousel nonetheless.

Exhibit B: Billy Cundiff

Billy was with both the Redskins and 49ers last year and signed with the Jets in late July to compete with Nick Folk. Cundiff was then released on 27 August, only to sign a week later with Cleveland.

Round and round, round and round.

Exhibit C: Shayne Graham

Shayne has spent time with a remarkable 12 teams in his career. After spending the 2012 season in Houston, he was released in favor of Randy Bullock. Graham was signed by Cleveland in the offseason but was recently let go and replaced by the aforementioned Billy Cundiff. I imagine he will eventually catch on somewhere else soon, because why not?

Just wow.