Ryan

Fitzgerald

He made all four extra points. The rookie kicker finishes his season 24-of-29 on field goals, with three of his five misses coming from beyond 50 yards. He did miss three extra points on 30 attempts. The Panthers could choose to bring in competition for the 2025 UDFA kicker this offseason, but they never did at any point in the regular season.

Yes, we’re that deep in the offseason bag. Person writes that Fitzgerald went 9-for-10 on field goals on the skinny goal posts towards the end of the practice sessions open to the media, while Wright missed both of his longer attempts last Wednesday. Dave Canales is quoted as saying “Let’s have them kicking in games, and we’ll be able to make the decision.” But for those of you drafting now or soon in leagues where you absolutely must consider who Carolina’s kicker is, here you go.

Fitzgerald (5’11/193) redshirted as a freshman and only appeared in five games as a sophomore. His next two seasons were marred by inconsistency. He missed three PATs and as many field goals in 2021 and went 12-of-20 on field goal tries in 2022. Fitzgerald turned his career around in the following season by connecting on 19-of-21 field goals with a spotless record on 58 PATs. He completed his arc by nailing all 13 of his field goal tries along with all 14 PATs for Florida State in his final season. He hit all five of his attempts from 50-plus yards in 2024 with a long of 59 in Florida State’s season opener versus Georgia Tech. Fitzgerald’s career numbers show cause for concern, but he was an entirely different player in his final two seasons. Fitzgerald has both the accuracy and the leg strength to be a long-term starter at the next level. He’ll challenge Matthew Wright for the Panthers kicking job in preseason.