Roberto Jose Aguayo (born May 17, 1994) is an American former professional football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, where he was the most accurate kicker in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) history and third in NCAA history.[1] He won the Lou Groza Award in 2013. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft, unusually high for a special teams player. Despite an accomplished collegiate career at Florida State, Aguayo is considered to be among the biggest busts in recent NFL history. Aguayo served as the starting kicker for the Buccaneers for only the 2016 season.[2][3][4] He then had stints with the Chicago Bears, the Carolina Panthers, the Los Angeles Chargers and the New England Patriots between 2017 and 2021 without seeing any regular season game action.
 Aguayo in 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Placekicker | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born: | May 17, 1994 Mascotte, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 207 lb (94 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school: | South Lake (Groveland, Florida) | ||||||||||||||||||
| College: | Florida State (2012–2015) | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2016 / round: 2 / pick: 59 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||||||
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College career
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Aguayo redshirted for the 2012 football season, his freshman season at Florida State. Aguayo led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in points with 157 and field goals converted with 21 in the 2013 season.[1] On December 12, 2013, Aguayo won the 2013 Lou Groza Award.[5] Aguayo led the ACC in field goals made with 27 in the 2014 season.[1] Aguayo announced his intention to forgo his senior season on January 6, 2016, to enter the 2016 NFL draft. In his three years with Florida State, he successfully connected with 69-of-78 field goal attempts and on all 198 of his extra point attempts.[1]
In July 2021, ESPN named Aguayo as part of their all-time collegiate "Special Teams Mount Rushmore", alongside Sebastian Janikowski, Shane Lechler, and Braden Mann.[6]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
207 lb (94 kg) |
31+3⁄4 in (0.81 m) |
9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) | |||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine | ||||||||||||
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
editThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Aguayo with the 59th overall pick in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft.[7] They acquired the pick in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs, sending their third and fourth-round selections.[8] Aguayo was the first kicker selected in the second round since Mike Nugent, who was drafted 47th overall in the 2005 NFL draft by the New York Jets.[7] On June 7, 2016, Aguayo signed his rookie contract, which included a $1.15 million signing bonus.[9][10] In Week 11, Aguayo went 4-for-4 on field goals and was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[11] However, Aguayo finished the 2016 season with the worst field goal percentage in the NFL among kickers attempting more than two field goals.[12] He went 22-of-31 on field goals as a rookie.
In the 2017 off-season, the Buccaneers signed Nick Folk to compete with Aguayo; his $750,000 guarantee was more than Aguayo's 2017 salary.[13] After missing a 47-yard field goal and an extra point in the Buccaneers' first preseason game, Aguayo was waived by the Buccaneers on August 12, 2017.[14]
Chicago Bears
editOn August 13, 2017, Aguayo was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Bears.[15] He was waived by the Bears on September 2, 2017.[16]
Carolina Panthers
editOn October 25, 2017, Aguayo was signed to the practice squad of the Carolina Panthers.[17] He was released on December 12, 2017.[18]
Los Angeles Chargers
editOn January 10, 2018, Aguayo signed a reserve/future contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.[19] He went perfect in the preseason (3-of-3 on field goals and 6-of-6 on extra points) and kicked the game-winning field goal in the Chargers' final exhibition.[20] He was waived on September 1, 2018, after losing the kicking job to Caleb Sturgis.[21]
New England Patriots
editAguayo worked out for the New England Patriots on December 21, 2020.[22] On December 26, Aguayo was signed to the Patriots' practice squad after spending nearly two full seasons as a free agent.[23] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021.[24] The Patriots released Aguayo on June 17.[25] Aguayo was competing with veteran Nick Folk once again and undrafted free agent Quinn Nordin.
Personal life
editAguayo's younger brother, Ricky Aguayo, took over place kicking duties for Florida State in 2016.[26]
Aguayo is of Mexican descent.[27] He lived in Jupiter, Florida, with his wife Courtney and their two toy poodles, Groza and Stella, as of 2019. In January 2021, Roberto and Courtney got a divorce.[28] He plays golf, and completed an internship with the PGA of America in 2019.[29]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Roberto Aguayo". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
- ^ "TD Wire named this Bucs player the franchise's biggest 2nd-round bust since 2000". April 24, 2020.
- ^ "Is Roberto Aguayo the worst NFL draft pick ever? Almost, but not quite". August 13, 2017.
- ^ "Clark: So what happened to Roberto?".
- ^ McGuire, Kevin (December 12, 2013). "Florida State kicker Roberto Aguayo wins Lou Groza Award". nbcsports.com.
- ^ "Position U: Which schools produce the most college football talent at each position?". August 2, 2021.
- ^ a b Patra, Kevin (April 29, 2016). "Buccaneers trade up to take kicker Roberto Aguayo". NFL.com. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ^ "Buccaneers Sign K Roberto Aguayo". Tampa Bay Buccaneers. June 7, 2016. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
- ^ Spotrac.com. "Roberto Aguayo". Spotrac.com. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ Lam, Quang (November 23, 2016). "Tom Brady, Kirk Cousins among Players of Week". NFL.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2016.
- ^ "Field Goal % Made: 2016 NFL Season". SportingCharts.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ Stroud, Rick (August 12, 2017). "Bucs cut beleaguered kicker Roberto Aguayo". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ Patra, Kevin (August 12, 2017). "Kicker Roberto Aguayo waived by Buccaneers". NFL.com.
- ^ Shook, Nick (August 13, 2017). "Chicago Bears claim Roberto Aguayo via waivers". NFL.com.
- ^ Sessler, Marc (September 2, 2017). "Bears release Roberto Aguayo". NFL.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017.
- ^ Henson, Max (October 25, 2017). "Panthers add Roberto Aguayo to practice squad". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2018.
- ^ "Panthers Release K Roberto Aguayo & RB Jalen Simmons, Sign Two". December 12, 2017.
- ^ Henne, Ricky (January 10, 2018). "Chargers Sign Kicker Roberto Aguayo". Chargers.com.
- ^ "Roberto Aguayo vs. The Yips". Bleacher Report.
- ^ Bergman, Jeremy (September 1, 2018). "Chargers to waive Roberto Aguayo; Sturgis wins battle". NFL.com.
- ^ Hartwell, Darren (December 22, 2020). "Report: Pats host ex-Bucs kicker Roberto Aguayo on FA visit". NBCSports.com. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ "Patriots Sign Kicker Roberto Aguayo To Practice Squad". Patriots.com. December 26, 2020.
- ^ "Patriots Sign 10 Players to Future Contracts". Patriots.com. January 4, 2021.
- ^ "Patriots sign offensive lineman R.J. Prince; release kicker Roberto Aguayo and long snapper Wes Farnsworth". Patriots.com. June 17, 2021.
- ^ Weiler, Curt (January 7, 2016). "Ricky Aguayo has opportunity his brother did not". Tomahawk Nation. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
- ^ "Roberto Aguayo Finishes his Father's Journey". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "Aguayo, Roberto J V Aguayo, Courtney L".
- ^ Fader, Mirin (May 28, 2019). "ROBERTO AGUAYO VS. THE YIPS". Bleacher Repost. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
External links
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Media related to Roberto Aguayo at Wikimedia Commons- Florida State Seminoles bio
