When the 2025 season began, it appeared that Arizona Cardinals kicker Chad Ryland would pick up where he left off last season.
After filling in for the injured Matt Prater, Ryland made 28-of-32 field goal attempts including four completions from over 50 yards (51, 55, 57, 58) and helping win several games with last-second kicks.
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In the first five games last season, it was pretty much the same with 8-of-10 field goal success and only missed attempts of 46 yards and one from 57 yards. One of the routes was from 57 yards.
However, punter and receiver Blake Gillikin injured his back in Week 5 and spent the rest of the season on injured reserve. After that, Pat O’Donnell and Matt Haack punted and caught for the rest of the season, and Ryland’s season ended.
In the last 12 games, he was 17 of 23 (73.9 percent) with three misses on eight 50-yard-plus kicks and missed some critical situations in close losses.
The Cardinals signed kicker Josh Karty off the Los Angeles Rams’ practice squad on Dec. 23 after he was replaced by Harrison Mevis following his injuries. Karty was inactive for the last two games of the season, but was signed in 2026 to provide Ryland’s championship.
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Karty was 10-for-15 on field goals for the Rams with three-pointers of 26, 36 (blocked) and 39 yards. He also missed a three-pointer. Mevis was signed to the practice squad after Karty missed an extra point and a 39-yard field goal attempt in a 34-10 win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 9.
When Mevis proved active, Karty was waived on November 28 and signed to the practice squad as insurance before the Cardinals came calling.
Ryland and Karty competed during the offseason and Karty was pulled during the final week of OTAs on June 4.
Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial explained, “During Phases 2 and 3, we get a lot of opportunities to kick with the team (and) ourselves, so all of that is tested and I believe Chad did a great job.
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“And with Josh, I have nothing but respect for Josh. He’s in a good frame of mind. He kicks the ball well and is the starting striker in this league.”
When asked why Ryland had problems missing to the right last season, Ghobrial said, “Traditionally when right tackles miss often, you want to miss to the right. Usually, when they miss to the left, they overcompensate and hook the ball too much. With Chad, I think his biggest focus is finishing the ball downfield, when he’s going to the net. It’s a point of emphasis for him. We always give a player at least one or two things to do.” they worked on them in the offseason, and he was very intentional and intentional about making sure those things were fixed.
“He did a great job. He treats a PAT like a 60-yarder; he treats a 60-yarder like a PAT. Every kick is a kick to him. So, I’m very happy with him and his accuracy and how he’s improved that and he’s always connected to something he’s supposed to be better at.”
As for what it means to “finish downfield,” Ghobrial said, “When a kicker finishes downfield, that means it has an impact. Guys in that kind of jam themselves almost force themselves out of the kick sometimes, or if their plant steps before the contact is too shallow or too deep, that can affect that.”
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Ghobrial added that “there’s a lot of little complexities before that happens, but you can’t give a kicker all those things. You give him one thing to focus on, one thought to swing. Obviously, Chad has had a lot of success in this league. So, that’s all he really needs to understand and do, so he’s doing a good job with that.”
Regarding the work between kicker, snapper and receiver related to Gillikin’s absence for most of the 2025 season, Ghobrial said, “The work between those three guys is very important. That’s usually like a successful career and often like kicking. Anytime you change the function, it affects the kicker. Now, we’re working with our players, and we’re working with our players to be able to do our job as our coaches, and we’re dealing with a coach as coaches. that no matter the situation, you find a way and you do it.
“But there are certain things you have to learn and you have to learn quickly. Sometimes within a week and unfortunately that happened last year when those situations happened. It’s part of being in this league. We’re not going to make excuses, but hopefully we can stay healthy for the rest of the season and keep the same guys to keep this rally going.”
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This article first appeared on Cars Wire: Arizona Cardinals move on with K Chad Ryland
