Heading into the 2018 Oakland Raiders training camp, the thought was Giorgio Tavecchio would have to stave off rookie Eddy Pineiro to keep the starting kicker job. However, the Raiders threw a wrench in those plans on Friday, cutting Tavecchio, and signing veteran Mike Nugent to mentor Pineiro the rest of camp.
Sure, Nugent has an outside shot to beat out the rookie, but Pineiro has looked very good since the team signed him right after the 2018 NFL Draft. He is a very accurate kicker, and while Tavecchio had his limitations, he did a nice job replacing legend Sebastian Janikowski last season, gut you cannot deny the kind of talent Pineiro brings to the position.