The Buffalo Bills have put kicker Tyler Bass on notice.
The team signed kicker Lucas Havrisik to the practice squad Thursday, the clearest sign yet the coaching staff is running out of patience with Bass鈥 continued struggles. The Bills鈥 incumbent kicker missed an extra-point attempt and a 47-yard field-goal attempt in Monday鈥檚 23-20 win over the New York Jets.
鈥淣o one鈥檚 hiding from it,鈥 general manager Brandon Beane said. 鈥淗e hasn鈥檛 done as well as he, or we, had hoped. So, we鈥檝e got to continue to look and monitor. If there鈥檚 a better option that we have to turn to, then we鈥檒l do that.鈥
It鈥檚 not yet clear if Havrisik ends up being that. The 25-year-old has just nine games of NFL experience, all with the Los Angeles Rams last season. He went 11 for 11 on field goals from 39 yards and in but just 2 of 6 on attempts from 40-49 yards. He did make 2 of 3 tries from 50-plus yards.
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Havrisik entered the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts, joining their practice squad in 2022. He also spent time with the Cleveland Browns鈥 practice squad.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have any expectations,鈥 Bills special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley said Thursday. 鈥淟ucas is here because he鈥檚 a good kicker. We had a tryout, and he did real well at the tryout. Competition is always a positive. Competition is always encouraged, because even if there is not somebody in the building, these guys know at every position they鈥檙e competing against the rest of the world all the time.鈥
The Bills have not yet given up on Bass, for good reason. He signed a four-year contract extension in 2023 that is worth up $20.4 million and runs through the 2027 season. His salary cap hit this year is $4.42 million. If the Bills cut him, they would save just $100,000 against the cap this season 鈥 savings that would disappear because they would have to pay a new kicker. They would also be on the hook for $3.06 million in dead money on the 2025 salary cap for Bass.
鈥淭-Bass would be the first to tell you it hasn鈥檛 gone the way he would like it, and quite frankly, the way we like it,鈥 Beane said. 鈥淏ut the great thing about Tyler is we鈥檝e had conversations with him. He鈥檚 very aware. He knows we鈥檙e working out people, and he understands it鈥檚 a production business.鈥
That鈥檚 the same message coach Sean McDermott delivered after Monday night鈥檚 win.
鈥淗e knows he needs to make those kicks,鈥 McDermott said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the bottom line.鈥
Bass has made 9 of 12 field goals this season. His 75% success rate is tied for 27th out of 33 kickers who have attempted at least six field goals this year. He鈥檚 also 18 of 20 on extra points, a 90% success rate that ranks 25th out of 26 qualified leaders (those with at least nine attempts).
Speaking to The Buffalo News after practice Thursday, Bass said he understands why the team brought Havrisik in, but that doing so does not add any more pressure because that move is out of his control.
鈥淚鈥檓 treating this year like every other year,鈥 Bass said. 鈥淭here is a lot of outside noise, but at the end of the day, that has no control over me and I can鈥檛 control what they say.鈥
Bass鈥 struggles have gone on for the better part of a year. Dating to Week 6 of last season, Bass has made 26 of 37 field goals. That鈥檚 a success rate of 70.3% 鈥 well below the acceptable standard (the overall NFL average is 85.6%). Bass had some notable misses in that time, including in the divisional playoff round against Kansas City when he had a chance to tie the score late in the fourth quarter.
鈥淎t the end of the day, you can control from when you make contact with that ball and you follow through all the way. Once you do that, that鈥檚 all you control,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou let go of everything else. ... Just focus on what you can control. If you put in the work throughout the week and make sure that鈥檚 the best you can do, I can live with that.鈥
Bass maintains that his confidence level is where it needs to be.
鈥淚鈥檝e been through a lot,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e had to earn everything I鈥檝e gotten and at this point, it鈥檚 no different. ... It鈥檚 where it needs to be. I feel like I can be better and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e working toward.鈥
Bass鈥 prolonged struggles are hard to figure. He made 28 of 34 field goals (82.4%) as a rookie in 2020 but showed so much improvement over the following two seasons that Beane felt comfortable extending his contract before the 2023 season. Bass missed just four field goals in each of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, going a combined 55 of 63 over that time (87.3%).
Asked what he believes has led to Bass鈥 struggles since then, Smiley, the special teams coordinator, replied: 鈥淚t could be 100 different things. I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 fair for me to say it鈥檚 this, that or the other. ... You can miss a couple kicks and feel like you鈥檙e close. It would be unfair for me to say, 鈥業t鈥檚 these two things.鈥 That鈥檚 not realistic.鈥
What is now more realistic than it鈥檚 been since Bass signed his extension is a possible change at the position.
Bass did, however, make a 22-yard field goal with 3:43 left against the Jets that did put the Bills ahead.
鈥淎 quarterback can go out there and throw a couple picks but then throw the game-winning touchdown and it kind of makes up for everything,鈥 long snapper Reid Ferguson said. 鈥淎s a specialist 鈥 kicker, punter, long snapper, it doesn鈥檛 matter 鈥 you don鈥檛 know when your shot is going to come and you don鈥檛 know how many you鈥檙e going to get, so you have to really dial it in and focus on taking care of business and doing your job when your number is called.鈥
To make room on the practice squad for Havrisik, the Bills released wide receiver Ahmarean Brown.
Havrisik kicked in college at Arizona. He was a Pac-12 honorable mention as a senior in 2021, making a school-record 57-yard field goal against Utah on Nov. 13, 2021. His career 75% success rate is the same as Bass鈥 this season, but that鈥檚 irrelevant now. What matters is how both of them perform moving forward, because a clear competition is brewing.
鈥淚 think both of us see it as a great opportunity just to get better,鈥 Havrisik said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 all we focus on, just doing our job as best we can. ... I think a lot of guys like competition. It makes you better. We all got here by competition. Obviously, I鈥檓 here to compete. The goal is always the same: Just make the kick. That鈥檚 all I worry about.鈥
If he does that, and Bass continues to miss, a permanent change could be on the way.