Mike Nugent

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Mike Nugent
Centerville
College:Ohio State (2001–2004)
NFL draft:2005 / Round: 2 / Pick: 47
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Field goals made:265
Field goals attempted:327
Field goal percentage:81%
Longest field goal:55
Extra points made:385
Extra points attempted:400
Extra point percentage:96.3%
Points scored:1,180
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR


Michael Nugent (born March 2, 1982) is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he won the Lou Groza Award in 2004, and was twice recognized as a consensus All-American. He was selected by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2005 NFL draft, and also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Arizona Cardinals, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Dallas Cowboys, the Chicago Bears, the Oakland Raiders, and the New England Patriots during his 16-year career.

Early years

Nugent was born in

Centerville High School, and played kicker and quarterback on the Elks football team. He was a teammate of linebacker A. J. Hawk
on the school's football team.

As a senior kicker, he converted on five out of seven

extra point
attempts.

College career

While attending Ohio State University, Nugent played for coach Jim Tressel's Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 2001 to 2004. During his four-year career at Ohio State, he broke or tied 22 school records, including most points in a career by any player at Ohio State (356).

He completed 72 of 88 field goal attempts and 140 of 143 extra point attempts. He was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American as a sophomore in 2002 and again as a unanimous All-American senior in 2004,[1] and received the Lou Groza Award as the nation's top college placekicker in 2004.[2]

Nugent also was part of three Bowl wins – 2003 & 2004 Fiesta Bowl / 2004 Alamo Bowl, and was part of the 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes Division I National Championship team. He became the first kicker in school history to earn team most valuable player honors.[3]

Career statistics

Ohio State Buckeyes
Season Class GP Field goals Extra points Pts
Lng FGM FGA FG% XPM XPA XP%
2001 FR 11 44 7 14 50.0 23 25 92.0 44
2002 SO 14 51 25 28 89.3 45 46 97.8 120
2003 JR 13 53 16 19 84.2 38 38 100.0 86
2004 SR 12 55 24 27 88.9 30 30 100.0 102
Totals[4] 50 55 72 88 81.8 136 139 97.8 352

Inducted into the Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame; September 6, 2019

Professional career

New York Jets

Nugent was selected by the

2005 NFL Draft.[5] During the opening game of the 2008 NFL season, Nugent injured his quadriceps following an extra point. To replace Nugent the Jets signed Jay Feely
, who performed so well in the position that he became the Jets' starter while Nugent, who eventually recovered from his injury, was forced to stay on the bench.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

As an

unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason, Nugent signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on March 4 and won the job over Matt Bryant
in the preseason due to Bryant's injury. After converting just two of his first six tries (2 blocked) through four games, Nugent was released by the Buccaneers on October 5.

Arizona Cardinals

Nugent signed with the Arizona Cardinals on December 16, 2009, as a temporary replacement for the injured Neil Rackers. He was waived by the Cardinals on January 2, 2010.[6]

Cincinnati Bengals

Nugent with the Bengals in 2011
Nugent kicking off during the Bengals' training camp in 2012

Nugent signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on April 23, 2010. He competed with Dave Rayner throughout training camp and the preseason for the Bengals starting job. Nugent eventually won the competition when the Bengals released Rayner on September 4, 2010, after Nugent made 54- and 52-yard field goals in the team's final two preseason games. Nugent was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for the month of September by going 8 for 8 on field goal tries in the Bengals' first three games of the season.

In 2011, Nugent set franchise records for points (132) and field goals (33). He signed a one-year contract tender with the Bengals for the 2012 season, and on March 10, 2013, the Bengals re-signed Nugent to a two-year deal.[7] On September 7, 2014, Nugent tied the NFL record for most field goals made in one half with 5.

On January 4, 2015, Nugent kicked a career-long 58-yard field goal during the AFC first-round playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts. On October 11, 2015, Nugent made a winning field goal against the Seattle Seahawks in overtime in Week 5, 2015.

In Nugent's seven-year run in Cincinnati, he helped the Bengals win the AFC North Division Championship in 2013 and 2015. He also played in the Bengals 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 AFC Wild-Card Playoff games.

"Mike is a tremendous teammate and has been an integral part of the Bengals for seven seasons," Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis said in a press release. "This was a difficult decision, but one we felt was in the best interest of the football team moving forward."

Nugent was released by the Bengals on December 13, 2016, after missing his sixth extra point of the season.

New York Giants

On August 1, 2017, Nugent signed with the New York Giants where he would compete with Aldrick Rosas for the starting position.[8] At the conclusion of the preseason, Nugent was cut from the Giants' roster on September 2, 2017.[9]

Dallas Cowboys

On October 24, 2017, Nugent was signed by the

special teams coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[10] He was released on November 26, after Bailey was deemed healthy from his previous groin injury.[11]
He made 7 out of 9 field goals in four games.

Chicago Bears

On December 4, 2017, the Chicago Bears signed Nugent to replace the injured Cairo Santos.[12] In Week 17, Nugent tied his personal record when he converted a 55-yard field goal.

Oakland Raiders

On August 4, 2018, Nugent signed with the Oakland Raiders.[13] He was placed on injured reserve on September 26, 2018, after suffering a hip injury in Week 3.[14]

New England Patriots

On October 3, 2019, Nugent signed with the New England Patriots after they placed Stephen Gostkowski on injured reserve.[15] He was released on October 29, 2019, after missing two kicks in a game against the Cleveland Browns.[16] In four games with the Patriots, Nugent went 5-of-8 on field goals and 15-of-16 on extra points.

Arizona Cardinals (second stint)

On September 18, 2020, Nugent was signed to the Arizona Cardinals practice squad.[17] He was elevated to the active roster on December 12 and 19 for the team's weeks 14 and 15 games against the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.[18][19] On December 25, 2020, Nugent was promoted to the active roster.[20] His only missed field goal came against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 17 when the kick was blocked.

NFL career statistics

Year Team GP Overall FGs PATs Kickoffs Points
Blk Lng FGA FGM Pct XPA XPM Pct Blk KO Avg TB Ret Avg
2005 NYJ 16 1 49 28 22 78.6 24 24 100.0 0 63 59.4 1 60 20.8 90
2006 NYJ 16 0 54 27 24 88.9 35 34 97.1 0 74 60.5 2 69 21.2 106
2007 NYJ 16 0 50 36 29 80.6 24 23 95.8 1 65 61.1 9 51 24.9 110
2008 NYJ 1 0 0 1 0 0.0 2 2 100.0 0 3 52.7 0 3 16.3 2
2009 TB 4 1 37 6 2 33.3 6 6 100.0 0 12 60.4 2 9 21.3 12
ARI 2 0 48 2 2 100.0 8 8 100.0 0 12 59.3 0 12 20.8 14
2010 CIN 9 1 54 19 15 78.9 17 17 100.0 0 44 63.3 7 34 26.5 62
2011 CIN 16 1 49 38 33 86.8 34 33 97.1 0 80 66.5 36 44 20.8 132
2012 CIN 12 0 55 23 19 82.6 35 35 100.0 0 65 66.6 21 43 26.0 92
2013 CIN 16 0 54 22 18 81.8 53 52 98.1 1 86 63.9 32 52 23.4 106
2014 CIN 16 1 49 33 26 78.8 39 39 100.0 0 81 65.6 37 44 25.5 117
2015 CIN 16 1 52 28 23 82.1 49 48 98.0 1 89 65.0 6 7 30.7 117
2016 CIN 13 0 47 29 23 79.3 29 23 79.3 0 63 63.0 28 34 22.9 92
2017 DAL 4 0 48 9 7 77.8 8 8 100.0 0 19 65.6 11 8 23.8 29
CHI 4 0 55 4 4 100.0 9 7 77.8 1 17 59.8 7 10 15.7 19
2018 OAK 3 0 52 6 6 100.0 5 4 80.0 1 14 61.3 6 7 25.7 22
2019 NE 4 1 37 8 5 62.5 16 15 93.8 0 30
2020 ARI 4 1 43 8 7 87.5 7 7 100.0 0 19 63.3 3 16 19.0 28
Total[21] 172 8 55 327 265 81.0 400 385 96.3 5 803 63.0 243 542 21.0 1,180

References

  1. ^ 2011 NCAA Football Records Book, Award Winners, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, p. 11 (2011). Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  2. ^ "Previous Winners". Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  3. ^ "Nugent Named Buckeyes' Most Valuable Player". www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com. The Ohio State University. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  4. ^ "Mike Nugent College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  5. ^ "2005 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  6. ^ "Cards cut Nugent, add Banks". January 2, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  7. ^ "Sunday's moves: Bengals re-sign Mike Nugent; Redskins keep snapper". USA Today.
  8. ^ Eisen, Michael (August 1, 2017). "Giants sign veteran kicker Mike Nugent". Giants.com.
  9. ^ Eisen, Michael (September 2, 2017). "New York Giants announce 2017 53-man roster". Giants.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  10. ^ Helman, David (October 24, 2017). "Cowboys Add Veteran Kicker Mike Nugent, Release DE Damontre' Moore". DallasCowboys.com.
  11. ^ Phillips, Rob (November 26, 2017). "Cowboys Release McFadden, Nugent; Sign Pass Rusher, Promote RB To Roster". DallasCowboys.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018.
  12. ^ Mayer, Larry (December 4, 2017). "Nugent replaces injured Santos as Bears kicker". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  13. ^ "Raiders sign kicker Mike Nugent; waive kicker Giorgio Tavecchio". Raiders.com. August 4, 2018.
  14. ^ "Raiders Sign K Matt McCrane; Place K Mike Nugent on IR". Raiders.com. September 26, 2018.
  15. ^ "Patriots sign kicker Mike Nugent". Patriots.com. October 3, 2019.
  16. ^ Gantt, Darin (October 29, 2019). "Patriots cutting kicker Mike Nugent". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  17. ^ Urban, Darren (September 18, 2020). "Cardinals Sign Kicker Mike Nugent To Practice Squad". AZCardinals.com.
  18. ^ Urban, Darren (December 12, 2020). "Jordan Phillips, Kevin Peterson Activated From IR; Johnathan Joseph Put On IR". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  19. ^ Urban, Darren (December 19, 2020). "Cardinals Place Zane Gonzalez, Jordan Phillips On IR; Sign D.J. Foster". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  20. ^ Urban, Darren (December 25, 2020). "Cardinals Sign Mike Nugent, Seth DeValve To Active Roster". AZCardinals.com.
  21. ^ "Mike Nugent". National Football League. Retrieved December 19, 2016.

External links