With Josh Brown suspended for the opening game of the season, and Tom Obarski squandering his “golden opportunity” with a missed field goal in Buffalo, the Giants signed Randy Bullock. The kicker was booting field goals for the Jets in 2015.
“Feels great, I feel at home, and I am kind of familiar with the area,” Bullock said. “It’s awesome.”
The new kicker was told that “I am here to compete and the best guy would stick around.”
While Obarski would’ve likely been a one week plan, it seems like Bullock has a chance to be the kicker for the season in light of Brown’s suspension for domestic assault. Bullock believes he has a chance at winning the job. “Yes, that is the way I am taking it, and that’s what I was told. I am here to compete and to try and be an asset to the team.”
At Texas A&M, Bullock was the 2011 winner of the Lou Groza Award, given to the best kicker in college football. Bullock kicked for the Texans from 2012 through the first few games of 2015. Then he played eight games with the Jets. Arguably his biggest field-goal gave the Jets an overtime lead against the Giants in week 13. A few minutes later, Brown missed a field-goal to end the game.
Bullock made 14 of his 17 field goal attempts with the Jets but was a man without a team and was in Houston until the Giants called on Sunday morning.
“The ball jumped off his foot,” head coach Ben McAdoo said when asked what he liked about Bullock. “He had a nice workout yesterday. He has had some experience. He had a good workout.”
Bullock was given an opportunity last season when the Jets lost Nick Folk to an injury. Now the other team that plays at MetLife has brought him in. Playing half the season helped his confidence after being let go by the Texans, the team that drafted him.
“I think it was big,” Bullock said. “If you get released, and for me to still have the opportunity to continue being on the workout circuit and win a job, play half the season and do well, I think that is great. It is a lot easier to prepare and do stuff when you’re within an organization than it is on the streets. I was trying to workout on my own at high school facilities and stuff like that. It was definitely beneficial for me to get my foot back in the door.”
He probably didn’t intend the pun, but the Giants are hoping he can be the consistent kicker he was for the Jets.