Washington Football Team signs kicker Brett Maher to practice squad

The Washington Football Team filled out their practice squad by signing kicker Brett Maher.

Heading into Thursday afternoon, the Washington Football Team had 16 players on their practice squad. That meant that they had one extra spot open for the 2020 season.

Because of defensive lineman David Bada’s inclusion in the NFL’s International Pathway Program, he doesn’t count toward a practice squad spot. As a result, Washington is able to carry 17 players on the squad, but the stipulation is that Bada must remain on the practice squad all year and can’t be promoted to the 53-man roster.

With their final practice squad spot, Washington elected to add someone who could produce in a role on their roster. According to the team’s official website, they inked kicker Brett Maher to a deal.

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On the surface, this move may not make a lot of sense. Why carry a backup kicker when Dustin Hopkins has been so solid for the team? Well, in this unconventional year, the team has to be prepared in case any player tests positive for COVID-19. That includes kickers, and evidently, they liked what they saw enough from Maher to keep him on the practice squad instead of on just an emergency list.

Maher has played in 29 games over the past two NFL seasons. All of his appearances came with the Dallas Cowboys. The 30-year-old has made 74.2 percent of his career kicks including 10-of-15 from beyond 50 yards. That’s solid and if he logs numbers closer to what he did in 2018 — 80.6 percent of kicks made, 6-of-7 from 50 and beyond — he could be a quality starter at kicker.

Maher won’t be replacing Hopkins, but he’s a fine backup to keep around on the practice squad. Thanks to the team’s extra spot, they have the luxury of keeping Maher around without sacrificing any of their other younger talents.

Maybe if another player they like becomes available, they’ll opt not to keep a second kicker around. But for now, it can’t hurt to have a jump on a player who would probably be on the emergency list of many teams.

Hopefully, Maher doesn’t have to log any action for Washington. If he did, it would mean either an injury, illness, or ineffective play from Hopkins. But he’s a fine insurance policy to keep around, if nothing else.