After an uneven performance from Rodrigo Blankenship in Week 1, should the Indianapolis Colts consider making a kicking change?
In Week 1, the Indianapolis Colts had a rare tie with the Houston Texans. While there were many things that led to this draw, one moment that many will remember is Rodrigo Blankenship missing a 42-yard field goal in overtime with an opportunity to win the game for the Colts. Unfortunately for Blankenship, that wasn’t his only mistake in Sunday’s game.
Blankenship is also doubling as the kickoff specialist since Rigoberto Sanchez is out and Blankenship was penalized twice for sending kickoffs out of bounds. Those are costly penalties as it gives the opposing team the ball at their 40-yard line. Fortunately, Indy’s defense was able to force punts both times, but the penalties still had a ripple effect on the field position of the offense.
Blankenship was 2-of-2 on his extra points and also made two other field goals that helped Indianapolis stay in the game, but his uneven performance still led to questions about if Indy needs to start looking for a replacement.
The #Colts need a new kicker and it's not a debate.
— Cody Felger (@CPFelger55) September 11, 2022
Can the Colts replace Rodrigo Blankenship?
Blankenship is coming off a 2021 season where he spent the majority of the year on injured reserve. During that time, Indianapolis signed Michael Badgley who kicked well in his stint. Badgley is currently a free agent.
Indy also signed Jake Verity in the offseason to compete with Blankenship in training camp but Blankenship won the battle and the Colts moved forward with confidence in Rodrigo as the only kicker. Not everyone shares that confidence in Blankenship.
Following the game, head coach Frank Reich said that Rodrigo Blankenship is the team’s kicker but he will be evaluated like everyone is after a game. Reich also added that he has learned not to “rush into those kinds of decisions.” So this is likely a situation the Colts will monitor in the coming weeks before making a decision.

4 Colts responsible for the Week 1 tie with the Texans
The Indianapolis Colts started the season with a draw with the Houston Texans. Here are the players responsible for that outcome.