Days after reworking his deal with the Oakland Raiders, kicker Sebastian Janikowski has been placed on injured reserve due to a back injury. Earlier, Janikowski was a limited participant in practice, prompting the Raiders to list him as questionable when they take on the Tennessee Titans Sunday. However, the team decided to place him on IR after further evaluation. Earlier, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network Insider reported that the Raiders were concerned about Janikowski's back, adding that the 39-year-old kicker was “slow to bounce back.” Vic Tafur of The Athletic reported that Janikowski is expected to miss eight weeks due to his troubled back.
Raiders, Janikowski agreed to rework deal
The Raiders selected Janikowski 17th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft, and he became their kicker since then, missing just four games in the past 17 seasons. In 268 of 272 possible regular season games, Janikowski converted 98.9 percent of his extra points and 80.4 percent of his field goals for the Raiders. In his career, he has made 414 field goals in 515 attempts, making him Oakland's all-time leading point scorer with 1,690 career points. Janikowski's 55 field goals of at least 50 yards are an NFL record. Recently, the Raiders and Janikowski agreed to rework his deal so he can join the team when they move to Las Vegas. According to Rapoport, Janikowski agreed to take a $1 million pay cut and accepted a $3 million fully guaranteed salary this season.
Tafur said Janikowski’s guaranteed salary could be a retirement gift from the Raiders for his 17-year tenure with the team.
Raiders promote Giorgio Tavecchio from practice squad
The Raiders have promoted Giorgio Tavecchio off the practice squad as Janikowski’s replacement. Tavecchio has not played in a regular-season game, but he has joined several training camps, including that of the San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions before joining the Raiders in 2014.
He suited up for the Raiders in the preseason, impressing Raiders coach Jack del Rio after making three of four field goal attempts and five of six on extra points. Vic Tafur of The Athletic said the Raiders selected Tavecchio because he’s a lefty like Janikowski. Before he went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft, Tavecchio played 46 games with the University of California, ending his college career with 256 points, good fifth on the school’s all-time scoring list and fourth among kickers.
