Feely’s tryout with Chiefs doesn’t last long
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
The Chiefs’ kicking battle is back where it started, the competitors being Nick Novak and Connor Barth.
But not veteran Jay Feely. One day after signing Feely, the Chiefs released him and sent him home.
Their explanation for the move will wait for another day. The Chiefs announced four other roster moves, but not the one with Feely, claiming they had yet to notify the player in question.
Feely, who didn’t attend the Chiefs’ annual kickoff luncheon Tuesday at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center, had already received the news and departed Kansas City.
Novak and Barth will be the Chiefs’ kickers in Thursday’s final preseason game against St. Louis at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs will have to make a final decision between the two by Saturday, when they must trim their roster to 53 players.
Feely lagged behind Barth and Novak in two days of direct practice competition. Feely made 23 of his 30 field-goal attempts, while Barth made 28 of 30 and Novak 27 of 30.
“I picked a real good day to make 100 percent,” said Barth, who was 15 for 15 on Tuesday.
Feely appeared to be the kicker the Chiefs were looking for when they signed him on Monday. A seven-year veteran with Atlanta, the New York Giants and Miami, Feely has made 80.8 percent of his career field-goal attempts.
He was 21 for 23 (91.3 percent) last year with the Dolphins, who released him during training camp. Feely hit more than 83 percent in each of the last three seasons.
He was unavailable to talk about his brief Kansas City experience,
“We’re shocked, baffled, disappointed,” said his agent, Glenn Schwartzman. “It was not our understanding that they were just going to give the job to Jay. We in no way thought that. We knew he would have to win the job.
“While no one promised him the job, we were under the impression he would be given a better opportunity to win it. If they’re going to base it off two days of kicking, they probably shouldn’t have signed him. It makes no sense to make a decision about Jay without letting him kick in the preseason game.
“Had we known he wasn’t even going to get that chance, we never would have signed with the Chiefs.”
Feely arrived in Kansas City on Monday and kicked almost immediately. He received little chance to warm up with snapper J.P. Darche and holder Dustin Colquitt.
They had been working with Novak and Barth for months.
“So Jay didn’t have a great day (Monday), understandably,” Schwartzman said. Feely was 10 of 15 Monday.
LINK
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chi...ry/768664.html
Chiefs release kicker Feely a day after signing him
Chiefs release kicker Feely a day after signing him
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