When NFL free agency kicks off on March 13, most fans probably won't be paying too much attention to the kicker market, but maybe they should, because nothing can cause your season to tank faster than a struggling kicker. 

The Bears found that out the hard way in 2018 after Cody Parkey's disastrous season that ended when he missed a 43-yard field goal with under 10 seconds left to play in a 16-15 postseason loss to the Eagles. Although the kick was tipped, there's no denying that Parkey, struggled all season. Including the field goal against Philadelphia, Parkey missed 11 kicks for the Bears in 2018 (eight field goals, three extra points).

The Steelers also had to deal with some kicker drama last season. The normally-reliable Chris Boswell had a total meltdown, hitting just 89.6 percent of his extra points (43 of 48) and a brutal 65 percent of his field-goal attempts (13 of 20). The ugly part for the Steelers is that Boswell's struggles came just months after they signed him to a five-year extension that included $7.3 million in guaranteed money. 

Like Boswell, Parkey also received a big contract during the 2018 offseason. As a matter of fact, Parkey was arguably the biggest free-agent signing among kickers in 2018. Back in March, the Bears signed him to a four-year, $15 million that included $9 million in guaranteed money. 

The moral of the story here is that signing a kicker to a huge contract is a monstrous gamble. The Bears and Steelers both committed big money to their kickers, but the gamble hasn't really paid off yet in either case. 

The irony in all of this for the Bears is that one of the best kickers available in free agency this year is a kicker they cut before the start of the 2016 season: Robbie Gould. 

The Bears thought they were saving money and upgrading, but in the end, the move has been one of the ugliest mistakes that general manager Ryan Pace has made during his four-year career in Chicago.  

With Gould near the top of our list, let's take a look at the kickers who are scheduled to be available when NFL free agency kicks off. (Keep in mind, there's a possibility that this list could change over the next three weeks if any available kicker decides to re-sign with his current team.) 

Tier 1: Sign these guys immediately

Stephen Gostkowski

If Gostkowski hits free agency, he'll arguably be the most coveted kicker on the market, but there's no guarantee that the he'll be available on March 13. The Patriots could end up hitting him with the transition tag or even the franchise tag if the two sides can't reach a deal before free agency starts. Although the Patriots don't like to overpay for players, Bill Belichick will likely be more than happy to give Gostkowski the $6 million kicker franchise tag if he feels that he's worth it. (Note: The kicker franchise tag will likely be about $5 million, but Gostkowski would get 120 percent of that since it would be the second time he's been tagged). 

The question is, does Belichick feel he's worth it?

Two of Gostkowski's worst seasons have come over the past two years, with the kicker hitting just 84.4 percent of his field goals in both 2016 and 2018, which is below his career average of 87.4 percent. Not to mention, Gostkowski has missed some big postseason kicks over the past few years. As a matter of fact, in the past three Super Bowls he's played in, he's gone just 4 of 6 on extra points (66.7 percent) and 6 of 8 on field goals (75 percent). During this year's Super Bowl, it seemed that Tom Brady was the only person on the Patriots sideline who had faith that Gostkowski would be able to ice the game with a fourth quarter field goal. 

The Patriots have had some kickoff issues with Gostkowski too. With him kicking off, the Patriots surrendered more return yards (1034) in 2018 than any other team except the Chargers. 

On the flip side, it wouldn't be surprising if Belichick decides to keep him and that's because If there's one team in the NFL that doesn't cycle through kickers, it's the Patriots. In Belichick's 19 seasons with the team, the Patriots have only had two kickers (Adam Vinatieri and Gostkowski). The reason kickers last so long in New England is because Belichick appreciates the difficulty of what they're asked to do. It's highly difficult to make field goals outdoors in a northern climate, which Belichick is well aware of. The Patriots also ask a lot of their kickoff guy: A lot of times, Gostkowski is asked to aim his kicks, which isn't easy to do. The fact that the kickoff coverage team struggled in 2018 could be pinned more on the coverage team and less on Gostkowski. 

The bottom line is that Gostkowski is definitely going to have a job next season. If the Patriots decide to take a pass on him, then teams should be lining up to sign him. 

Robbie Gould

Gould is hitting free agency at the perfect time and that's because he was arguably the best kicker in the NFL last year. During the 2018 season, Gould connected on 97.1 percent of his field goals, which led the entire league. 

Gould starred in each of the 49ers' four wins last season. During a 30-27 win over the Lions in Week 2, Gould scored 12 of San Francisco's points with three field goals and three extra points. Gould was also instrumental during a huge upset win over the Seahawks in Week 15. In the 26-23 overtime victory, Gould hit four field goals, including a 36-yard game-winner in OT. 

The problem for other teams out there who are hoping to land Gould is that he might not even be available when free agency begins. Like Gostkowski, there's a chance that he could be hit with the franchise tag. The 49ers are reportedly planning to tag him if they can't reach a deal on a long term contract. 

Jason Myers

After struggling in Jacksonville during the 2017 season, Myers rebounded with a solid year for the Jets in 2018. The 27-year-old hit 91.7 percent of his field goals last season, which ranked seventh overall in the NFL and was the best for any AFC kicker that played the entire season. The most impressive stat for Myers might have been the fact that he hit six field goals from beyond 50 yards, which was tied with Cowboys kicker Brett Maher for the most in the NFL last year. 

Myers also had a game in 2018 where he hit seven field goals, which is tied for the second most in one game in NFL history. Myers' season actually ended up being so impressive that he was named the Pro Bowl kicker in the AFC. 

Although there's still some risk with Myers -- he hit just 79.4 percent of his field goals in 2016 and was even worse with a 73.3 percent conversion rate in 2017 -- he should be viewed as a solid potential free agent signing after his impressive year with the Jets. 

Tier 2: Journeymen kickers (Cross your fingers and hope they can still kick)

Dan Bailey
Chandler Catanzaro
Cairo Santos
Mike Nugent
Kai Forbath

If your favorite team doesn't land a guy from our first tier, then they're likely going to be forced to sign someone from our official "journeymen" tier. 

Of the five kickers on this list, not a single one of them played an entire 16-game schedule last season. Although Dan Bailey led the way with 14 games played, 2018 was basically a disastrous year for him. After being cut by the Cowboys before the season started, Bailey signed with the Vikings and ended up struggling. In 14 games with the Vikings, Bailey hit just 75 percent of his field goals (21 of 28), which was the second-worst conversion rate for any kicker that attempted more than 20 field goals last season. Bailey also struggled during his final season with the Cowboys in 2017, when he also hit just 75 percent of his field goals, and it's starting to feel like the 31-year-old might have lost his kicking touch. 

As for Santos and Catanzaro, their paths kind of crossed in 2018. Catanzaro started the season as the Buccaneers kicker, but he was released in November after missing four extra points and one field goal through the first eight weeks of the season. The Bucs ended up replacing Catanzaro with Santos, who hit just 75 percent of his field goals (9 of 12) over Tampa's final seven games. For Santos, all three of his misses came between 40 and 49 yards. On Catanzaro's end, his biggest problem is that he's been struggling with the new extra-point length. Since the PAT was moved back to 33-yards in 2015, Cantanzaro has missed 14 of them (155 of 169). 

Although his 91.7 percent extra-point conversion rate is bad, Mike Nugent and Kai Forbath -- the other two guys on this list -- have actually been worse. Since 2015, Forbath is hitting 90.1 percent of his PAT's while Nugent is hitting just 90 percent. To put that in perspective, NFL teams hit 94.3 percent of their extra points in 2018. As far as extra points go, Myers has actually been the worst of any kicker on this list, hitting just 87.6 percent of his extra points since 2015. Although Myers is in our first tier of kickers after coming off a Pro Bowl season, he'll drop down to the "Journeyman" tier if he struggles in 2019. 

Bonus Tier: Really old kickers who might still be reliable, but could be a risk due to their age

Matt Bryant 
Sebastian Janikowski
Phil Dawson

We should probably start off here by noting that Bryant, Janikowski and Dawson are three of the five oldest players in the NFL. The problem with being old is that unless you're Tom Brady, your body generally starts to fall apart and that's what seems to be happening with these three kickers. 

On Dawson's end, he had a disastrous season in Arizona. The 44-year-old hit just 5 of 8 field goals in 2018 (62.5 percent) before he was placed on injured reserve with a hip injury. The market for an old, injured kicker isn't very big, which means Dawson might have problems finding a job this offseason. That being said, if Dawson does get signed, he probably won't get very much guaranteed money and he'll likely be battling multiple kickers for a job in training camp.  

As for Janikowski, although he made it through the regular season unscathed, the soon-to-be 41 year old did suffer a thigh injury during the Seahawks' playoff loss to the Cowboys. After spending the 2017 season on injured reserve due to a back issue and then injuring his thigh to end the 2018 season, Janikowski probably won't have a lot of teams banging on his door when free agency begins. The Polish Cannon hit just 81.5 percent of his field goals in 2018, which ranked 23rd overall in the league. 

Although all three kickers on this list could eventually get signed, Bryant probably has the best chance. Bryant is hitting free agency because the Falcons decided not to pick up his team option for 2019. One reason the Falcons passed on the option is because Bryant was dealing with multiple injuries last season (back and hamstring) that caused him to miss a total of three games. Despite the injuries, Bryant will likely find a job very easily, and that's because he's been Mr. Reliable for the past few years. In 2018, Bryant connected on 95.2 percent of his field goals (20 of 21), which ranked third in the NFL. If Bryant's healthy, he's one of the best kickers in the league, but he'll be 44 when the 2019 season starts and there's simply no way to know if his body will be able to hold up for an entire season. One potential landing spot for Bryant could be a return to Tampa Bay. Bryant spent four years with the Bucs before being released following the 2008 season. The kicker then signed with the Falcons, where he spent the past 10 seasons. 

Punters hitting free agency: Ryan Allen, Jordan Berry, Pat O'Donnell, Donnie Jones, Bradley Pinion. 

The biggest name on this list is probably Patriots punter Ryan Allen, although it would be a total surprise if the Patriots actually let him hit free agency. Bill Belichick loves two things in a punter: He wants them to be left-footed and have exquisite touch. Allen has found success in New England because he checks both of those boxes. The Patriots punter is also coming off one of the best games of his career in Super Bowl LIII. During New England's 13-3 win over the Rams, Allen punted five times and pinned the Rams inside their own 20 yard line with three of those punts. 

For more on free agency, just click on the position group below to check out our look at the top free agents of 2019: