Broncos cast their kicking lot with the well-traveled Elliott Fry
May 31, 2023, 11:55 AM | Updated: 4:31 pm
Say this for kicker Elliott Fry: He is persistent.
The newest Bronco has now spent time with over one-third of the teams in the NFL. Fry — who joined the Broncos on Wednesday as the second week of Phase 2 of OTAs continued — is on his 11th different team since jumping to the NFL following a spring 2019 stint with the Orlando Apollos of the short-lived Alliance of American Football.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero first reported the move.
Most recently with the Arizona Cardinals, Fry has been cut 12 times. But each time, he’s gotten back up and found another chance. He became available after the Cardinals waived him May 15, one day and two months after they re-signed veteran and former Bronco Matt Prater.
Fry’s NFL regular-season experience is limited. In stints with three different teams — Atlanta in 2020 and Cincinnati and Kansas City in 2021 — he has six career field-goal attempts, succeeding on five. With all three of those teams, Fry spent time on the practice squad.
The South Carolina product is also 5-of-7 on extra points. Half of his 16 career regular-season kickoffs ended in touchbacks.
The 2021 work was Fry’s most recent regular-season stint. He spent part of the 2022 preseason with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they cut him even though he was a perfect 2-of-2 on field goals, along with a successful extra-point attempt.
Fry went 14-of-14 on field-goal attempts for the AAF’s Apollos four years ago. To date, that remains the only time as a pro in which he’s been a team’s No. 1 placekicker.
Yes, Fry didn’t have any attempts of 50 or more yards during that AAF season. But 100 percent is hard to counter. And given that Brandon McManus’ 2022 season saw him miss more attempts from inside 50 yards — three — than he did in the previous two seasons combined, it’s a potential feather in Fry’s cap.
That flawless inside-the-50 AAF form is what the Broncos hope they’ll see if Fry can win the job.
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