Former Los Angeles Rams kicker Sam Ficken is another free agent who will be joining the Seattle Seahawks on a futures deal.
Ficken, an undrafted free agent in 2015 out of Penn State, was a practice squad member for the Chiefs and Jaguars during his career, as well as joining the active roster for the Los Angeles Rams to fill in for Greg Zuerlein when he was injured.
Ficken had two stints with the Rams and was added to the roster both times after Greg Zuerlein was battling an injury. In 2017, he played in two games for Los Angeles, going two-for-three on field goals and four-for-five on extra points.
He was later waived and eventually brought back when Zuerlein suffered another injury this past season. Over the course of the two games he played in this year, he was one-for-three on field goals and ten-for-ten on extra points. He was subsequently released after Zuerlein returned.
Sebastian Janikowski was the Seahawks kicker this past season, after spending the first seventeen years of his career with the Oakland Raiders. His future with the team is unclear since he will be an unrestricted free agent this coming offseason.
Janikowski suffered multiple injuries during the season, one during the Week 16 win over the Kansas City Chiefs as well as another coming at a very bad time, during their wild-card round loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The injury in the wild-card game was a “really hurt” hamstring after a missed 57-yard field goal attempt at the end of the first half.
It will be interesting to see whether or not Seattle will extend the 40-year-old veteran kicker, or possibly look for a kicker in free agency to compete with Ficken during training camp. Janikowski was very consistent this season, going 22-for-27 on field goals and 48-for-51 on extra points.
The inexperienced Ficken surely does not have a lock on a roster spot for the 2019-2020 season, and it is definitely expected that he will face competition during training camp. Whether that competition comes from Janikowski or another kicker is still up in the air.
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