The Carolina Panthers are entering an offseason in which all three of their specialists are set to hit free agency. That group includes kicker Eddy Piñeiro—who, according to a team beat writer, may be prepared to explore the open market.
Joe Person of The Athletic reported on Thursday that Piñeiro, Carolina’s primary place kicker for the past three seasons, could be on the outs. In addition to acknowledging Tuesday’s signing of kicker Matthew Wright, Person notes that the team’s reluctance in sending out Piñeiro from long range in 2024 might be another indicator of a possible split.
He writes:
Signing Wright to a future deal doesn’t mean he’s going to be the Panthers’ kicker next season. And the move on its own doesn’t spell the end of Pineiro’s time in Charlotte. But the sense in league circles is that Carolina will allow Pineiro to test free agency following a season in which he made 22-of-26 field goals and was 33-of-35 on extra points. Accuracy has never been the issue with Pineiro. But Panthers coach Dave Canales and his staff seemed to have little faith in Pineiro’s leg strength. Pineiro’s two attempts from 50-plus were the fewest among 25 kickers who tried more than 25 field goals in 2024.
Piñeiro made one of those two attempts, a 53-yarder from the Panthers’ Week 10 win over the New York Giants in Munich, Germany. Over his two prior seasons in Carolina, he booted through seven of his nine field goal tries from at least 50 yards away.
There was a bit of uncertainty surrounding Piñeiro last offseason, after he did not attend voluntary minicamp or organized team activities in the spring. He did, however, return for the summer—where he declined to comment on the reason behind his absences as he entered the final year of his contract.
The 29-year-old is currently the third-most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history (88.1 percent)—behind only Justin Tucker (89.1 percent) and Harrison Butker (88.6).