Through their first five games of the season, the Miami Dolphins struggled in nearly every area, but their special teams had been particularly rough. They gave up several long returns, and kicker Riley Patterson made just 77.8% of his field goals and 83.3% of his extra points.
Since their last game, the Dolphins decided to make a swap at kicker, cutting Patterson and bringing back Zane Gonzalez, who spent the offseason in Miami before landing on injured reserve in camp.
Addressing the media this week, Dolphins special teams coordinator Chris Tabor spoke about his admiration for Gonzalez and why the team made the change.
"Zane's a good player," Tabor said. "I said that in training camp. I said that in OTAs. I felt like we had two NFL-quality players.
Obviously, we've made the change. I know Coach Hafley addressed that, and we're always going to do what we feel is best for the team at the moment, and that's what we did. And Zane, looking forward to watching him play on Sunday...
"I was really pleased with Zane, how he was hitting the ball. Zane has been a guy in this league that's very consistent. I would say that his heart rate is the same all the time, whether it's an extra point or a game winner. If he happens to miss one, his heart rate is still the same, and he's going to come right to the next one. He's a seasoned pro. I've really watched him grow from when I was with another team, and we drafted him to where he is now. You're dealing with two different people, really."
Gonzalez has spent seven seasons in the NFL, and he's made 81% of his field goals and 95.3% of his extra points while playing for the Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Commanders.
A young team that's struggling offensively and defensively can't survive blunders on special teams, so the team hopes that bringing in a veteran like Gonzalez can help with some of those issues. That would make things much easier for Jeff Hafley's team in his first season as head coach.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Why did Dolphins bring back Zane Gonzalez to replace Riley Patterson?
