Rodrigo Blankenship: Waived with injury settlement
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Arizona waived Blankenship (undisclosed) with an injury settlement Wednesday.
Blankenship filled in for Matt Prater during Week 7 and made both of his field-goal attempts, including a 50-yarder, but he missed one of his three extra-point tries. Prater returned in Week 8 but wasn't cleared for kickoff duties, so Blankenship handled that role. However, Blankenship appears to have suffered an injury of his own during the contest and was waived with an injury settlement Wednesday. Once healthy, Blankenship will be allowed to sign with a new team.
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Cardinals' Rodrigo Blankenship: Contained to kickoffs in Week 8
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Blankenship recorded six kickoffs, all touchbacks, during Sunday's 34-26 loss in Minnesota.
Blankenship filled in for the Cardinals' regular kicker Matt Prater in the final of his three absences due to a right hip injury. While Prater was cleared to log field-goal attempts and point-after tries Sunday -- he made two FGAs and PATs apiece in his return -- Blankenship, who was inked to the active roster last Wednesday, handled kickoff duties Week 8. Such a breakdown of placekicking tasks may be the team's reality until Prater is back to full health.
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Cardinals' Rodrigo Blankenship: Active, along with Prater
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Both Blankenship and Matt Prater (right hip) are active Sunday in Minnesota, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
With Prater back for the first time since Week 4, he's a safe bet to log field-goal attempts and point-after tries, at the very least. But Arizona signed Blankenship to the active roster this week to serve as an emergency option at placekicker for the Cardinals, and coach Kliff Kingsbury said he'd handle kickoffs while Prater gets the scoring opportunities. As a result, Blankenship isn't a certainty to contribute on the fantasy front.
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Cardinals' Rodrigo Blankenship: Moves to Cardinals' active roster
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Arizona signed Blankenship to the active roster from the practice squad Wednesday, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports.
Blankenship made two field goals in his debut for the Cardinals last week, with one coming from 50 yards out, and he went 2-for-3 on extra-point tries. His move to the active roster could signal that Matt Prater (hip) is trending in the wrong direction for Sunday's game against the Vikings.
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Rodrigo Blankenship: Reverts to practice squad
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Blankenship reverted back to Arizona's practice squad Friday.
Blankenship was elevated to the active roster prior to Thursday's win over the Saints, and he connected on both his field-goal attempts while going 2-for-3 on extra-point tries. However, his status with the Cardinals is dependent on the status of Matt Prater, who has missed three straight games due to a hip injury. Prater could return to the field as soon as next Sunday versus Minnesota.
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Cardinals' Rodrigo Blankenship: Subbing for Prater on Thursday
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Blankenship will serve as the Cardinals' placekicker Thursday versus the Saints with Matt Prater (hip) sidelined, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports.
With Prater out for a third consecutive contest, Blankenship will be the second kicker to stand in for him after Matt Ammendola handled those duties Weeks 5-6. In parts of three seasons with the Colts, Blankenship made 45 of 53 field-goal attempts and 52 of 55 point-after tries, which amounted to 8.5 points per game in his 22 appearances.
The Cardinals elevated Blankenship from their practice squad Thursday, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports.
Blankenship was signed to Arizona's practice squad Tuesday, and he could serve as the team's top kicker for Thursday night's matchup against the Saints if Matt Prater (hip) -- who's currently questionable to play -- is eventually ruled inactive for a third consecutive contest. The 25-year-old was let go by Indianapolis after going 2-for-3 on field-goal attempts and 2-for-2 on extra-point tries in Week 1.
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Colts' Rodrigo Blankenship: Beats out Verity for starting job
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Blankenship has won the Colts' kicking battle with the team releasing Jake Verity on Thursday, Mike Chappell of Fox 59 News Indianapolis reports.
Blankenship entered as the favorite and reportedly outkicked Verity at training camp, even showing improved ability on tries from 50-plus yards. While he has one of the weaker legs among NFL starting placekickers, Blankenship could be useful in fantasy leagues this year, playing for a dome team that many project to win a weak AFC South.
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Colts' Rodrigo Blankenship: Operating as starter at OTAs
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Colts head coach Frank Reich said last week that Blankenship (hip) is the favorite to win the starting kicker job over Jake Verity, Kevin Hickey of USA Today reports.
Blankenship operated as the Colts' placekicker to start 2021, but he played just five games before being placed on IR with a hip injury, which ultimately ended his season. Michael Badgley replaced Blankenship last year, but he remains a free agent as Indianapolis signed Verity to provide competition to Blankenship during the offseason. Now healthy, Blankenship is poised to reclaim his starting gig. Across 21 career games, he's converted 43 of 51 field-goal attempts, with six of his eight misses coming from 40-plus yards.
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Colts' Rodrigo Blankenship: In offseason battle
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Blankenship (hip) is expected to compete with Jake Verity for the Colts' kicking job during OTAs and training camp, Kevin Hickey of USA Today reports.
Blankenship has held Indianapolis' starting kicker duties over the past two seasons when healthy, but he played just five games in 2021 before being placed on injured reserve with a hip injury in November. He ultimately converted 11 of 14 field-goals attempts and missed one extra-point attempt in 2021. Blankenship was relatively consistent in his rookie season with the Colts, and if healthy, he'll be the favorite to retain the kicking job.
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Colts' Rodrigo Blankenship: Remains on IR indefinitely
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Colts head coach Frank Reich said Wednesday that Blankenship (hip) will remain on injured reserve for the foreseeable future with Michael Badgley having secured the team's kicking job, Zak Keefer of The Athletic reports.
After Blankenship landed on IR on Oct. 16 with the right hip injury, Badgley has stepped in to handle kicking duties for each of the last five games. Badgley has gone a perfect 7-for-7 on field-goal attempts and 19-for-19 on extra-point attempts, a performance that will allow him to retain the job even with Blankenship seemingly trending toward a return to full health. Since the Colts haven't designated Blankenship for a return from IR, he can't practice with the team, but he'll presumably work out on his own and continue to rebuild strength in his hip in the event he's needed at some point later in the season.
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Colts' Rodrigo Blankenship: Placed on IR
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Blankenship (hip) was placed on injured reserve Saturday.
Blankenship had already been ruled out for Sunday's Week 6 matchup due to a hip injury that he sustained last week, but he'll be forced to miss at least three games. Michael Badgley was elevated from the practice squad ahead of Sunday's game against the Texans.
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Colts' Rodrigo Blankenship: No practice Wednesday
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Blankenship (hip) was a non-participant at Wednesday's practice.
Blankenship's absence from practice comes as little surprise, after head coach Frank Reich said the kicker underwent an MRI on Tuesday after dealing with the hip injury in Monday's 31-25 overtime loss to the Ravens. The Colts tried out some kickers Wednesday and signed Michael Badgley to the practice squad, per Mike Chappell of Fox 59 News Indianapolis. Badgley will presumably be elevated to the 53-man roster by Saturday if the Colts aren't confident Blankenship will be ready to kick Sunday against the Texans.
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Colts' Rodrigo Blankenship: Battling hip injury
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Blankenship played through a hip injury suffered during the first quarter of Monday night's game against Baltimore, George Bremer of The Anderson Herald Bulletin reports.
Blankenship obviously wasn't right after suffering the injury, missing one of two extra points and two of four field goal attempts. One of his field goal misses would have won his team the game as time expired. It's currently unclear if the injury will force Blankenship to miss time, but the Colts will likely audition other placekickers heading into Week 6 against the Texans.
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Colts' Rodrigo Blankenship: Converts all three FG attempts
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Blankenship converted all three field-goal attempts from 48, 46 and 35 yards and made his only extra-point attempt in Sunday's loss to the Rams.
Blankenship has converted all four field-goal attempts this season, and his two 45-plus yard conversions bode well for repeating his success from that distance last season. The 2020 UDFA went 31-for-34 from inside 50 yards last year.
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Colts' Rodrigo Blankenship: Wins kicking battle
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Blankenship has won the Colts' kicking job with the team releasing Eddy Pineiro on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Undrafted last year, Blankenship won the job with a strong training camp and converted 32 of 37 field-goal attempts (86.5 percent) in the regular season. However, he had just three attempts from 50-plus yards, missing two, and then missed a field goal in a playoff loss to Buffalo. Blankenship will keep his spot for Week 1, but the month-long job battle with Pineiro this summer suggests Colts brass isn't entirely sold on him.
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Colts' Rodrigo Blankenship: Makes 47-yard FG
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Blankenship converted his only field goal attempt from 47 yards in Saturday's preseason win at Minnesota.
Both Blankenship and Eddy Pineiro have been nearly perfect in training camp and the preseason. Blankenship will likely retain this starting job from last season unless he stumbles. He had a solid rookie campaign, missing only five kicks (including PATs) inside of 50 yards. However, he had a key 33-yard misfire late in the third quarter against Buffalo during the playoffs.
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Colts' Rodrigo Blankenship: Faces competition for kicker job
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Indianapolis will have an open competition at kicker between Blankenship and Eddy Pineiro during OTAs and training camp, Jim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star reports. "[Blankenship] had a good season for us last year, so that's obviously taken into consideration. He'll have to earn it again this year...it is open competition," head coach Frank Reich said.
Blankenship had a solid rookie campaign, missing only five kicks (including PATs) inside of 50 yards. However, he had a key 33-yard misfire late in the third quarter against Buffalo during the playoffs. Blankenship doesn't have great range (1-for-3 on kicks of 50-plus yards), so the Colts could decide to go with a stronger leg. Still, Blankenship has to be considered a heavy favorite to retain the job over Pineiro.
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Colts' Rodrigo Blankenship: Drills 53-yarder
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Blankenship connected on both field-goal attempts and all three extra-point tries in Sunday's 27-20 win over the Texans.
Blankenship nailed a 35-yarder on the first drive of the second quarter, and he drilled a 53-yarder on the next drive, marking a career long with his first made field goal from beyond 50 yards. The rookie is in the race for the most points in the league, as his 125 ties him for second and has him just eight points shy of Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo.
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Colts' Rodrigo Blankenship: Minimal usage in blowout loss
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Blankenship didn't attempt a field goal but made both extra-point attempts in Sunday's 45-26 loss to the Titans.
The Colts scored touchdowns on each of their first two drives, and Blankenship followed up each score with an extra point. By the time the Colts found the end zone again, they were down by 18 and in need of two-point conversions. It was an unlucky game script for Blankenship's fantasy managers. He's still a must-start option with the next three games in dome settings.
