Brewer, Lee Return to Keep Kicking Group Intact

The Cardinals made sure their kicking group remained together Thursday when they re-signed long snapper Aaron Brewer and agreed to terms with punter Andy Lee.

Both players were unrestricted free agents and will be under contract for another year.

The agreements also reduced to 11 the number of unrestricted free agents the Cardinals have, which is down from 21.

They have re-signed seven players including Brewer and Lee: tight ends Zach Ertz and Maxx Williams, quarterback Colt McCoy, running back James Conner and linebacker Dennis Gardeck.

Off to new cities are linebacker Chandler Jones (Las Vegas), wide receiver Christian Kirk (Jacksonville) and running back Chase Edmonds (Miami).

Still unsigned are wide receiver A.J. Green, nose tackle Corey Peters, linebacker Zeke Turner, center/guard Max Garcia, tight ends Darrell Daniels and Demetrius Harris, cornerbacks Robert Alford and Antonio Hamilton, safeties Chris Banjo and Charles Washington and defensive end Jack Crawford.

The trio of Brewer, Lee and kicker Matt Prater are among the most experienced group in the NFL. Lee will be entering his 19th season, Prater his 16th and Brewer his 11th. Lee will be 40 on Aug. 11, Prater 38 on Aug. 10 and Brewer 32 on July 5.

When Brewer missed three games during the 2021 season because of a broken arm and Lee one while on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the timing created issues with Prater’s kicks. He left seven points on the field in two games, largely because of errant snaps or problematic holds.

In Week 11 at Seattle, with Beau Brinkley the long snapper, Prater missed an extra point along with field-goal attempts of 36 and 39 yards. Fortunately, the Cardinals were able to win, 23-13.

It didn’t work out that way in a Week 16 Christmas night game against Indianapolis. With Lee out, quarterback Colt McCoy struggled as the holder and was eventually replaced by the punter in that game, Ryan Winslow.

Prater again missed an extra point and two field-goal attempts, this time from 41 and 51 yards in a crucial 22-16 loss.

Those extra points were the only ones he missed all season and field-goal mishaps accounted for four of his seven misses all season. He didn’t miss any other attempts from 30-39 yards and only one other from 40-49 yards. Prater was also 7-for-9 on kicks from 50 or more yards not including the miss from 51 against the Colts.