Former Cowboys kicker Brett Maher signs deal with Denver Broncos over weekend

The Denver Broncos signed former Dallas Cowboys kicker Brett Maher over the weekend after bringing him in for a workout last month. Denver parted ways with veteran kicker Brandon McManus this offseason but signed Maher just days before training camp.

It’s a reunion for Maher with Broncos head coach Sean Payton who also coached him in 2021 in New Orleans.

During the 2022 regular season, the former Nebraska kicker hit on 90.6% of his field goals and 50 of 53 extra-point attempts. In the postseason, he made two field goals with a long of 43 and went 1-for-6 on extra points.

After a full season of consistent kicking, however, Maher had one of the worst performances in NFL history in the Cowboys’ first playoff game versus Tampa Bay. He missed four extra points before finally making a fifth. He became the only kicker in NFL history to miss four extra-point attempts in a single game.

Maher’s issues carried over into the next week as well. He had an extra point attempt blocked and even without the block, it looked like the ball was going to head wide left.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton clearly isn’t concerned with the former Cowboys’ end-of-season yips. While the duo were together with the Saints, Maher hit on 16 of his 18 field goal attempts in eight games.

Cowboys move on from Maher following XP mishaps

Dallas chose not to re-up on Brett Maher after the 2022 season. The roster still had one other kicker, Tristan Vizcaino, but Mike McCarthy wasn’t ready to hand him the job without a challenger.

The Cowboys signed kicker Brandon Aubrey to the roster ahead of training camp this month. Aubrey wrapped up a season with the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions after playing in the MLS and completing a collegiate career playing soccer for Notre Dame.

In 2017, Aubrey was a first-round draft pick for Toronto F.C. of the MLS. They released him after one season, and he then signed with the United Soccer League team Bethlehem Steel.

Aubrey made his debut as a football player after going in the USFL’s 2022 Draft to Birmingham. His contract with the Stallions lapsed on July 3. During the season, he went 14 for 15 on field goals and 35-for-35 on point-after attempts.

The newest Cowboy grew up in DFW and played soccer for the Dallas Texans. He gives the team 89 players on the roster heading toward camp in Oxnard, California.