The Carolina Panthers are giving a rookie kicker with an already famous nickname an opportunity to win a job. Harrison Mevis, dubbed the 'Thiccer Kicker," has signed a multi-year deal with the Panthers ahead of the minicamp portion of the offseason, per The Athletic.
Mevis was one of the four kickers invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis in February. The Missouri product is the school's all-time scoring leader (405 points) while hitting on 78.3% of his field goal attempts. Mevis' claim to fame is booting a 61-yard field goal to beat Kansas State last season that set an SEC record. He was 24 of 30 on field goal attempts last season (80%) while hitting 45 of 46 PATs (97.8%). He also holds the program record for 50-plus-yard field goals (12).
The Panthers do have a kicker in Eddy Pineiro, who has been kicking for Carolina the past two seasons. Pineiro went 25 of 29 (86.2%) on field goal attempts last season, but was 12 of 16 on kicks of 40-plus yards (75%). Perhaps the Panthers are looking for a kicker with a bigger leg to challenge Pineiro this summer -- even though Pineiro his hit 90.6% of his field goals over the last two seasons.
Pineiro has a cap number of $2.545 million heading into the final year of his contract. The Panthers are giving an undrafted rookie a shot to unseat him this summer.
