The Dallas Cowboys have now taken out an insurance policy.
The Cowboys added kicker Tristan Vizcaino to their practice team on Wednesday, just days after Brett Maher missed four straight extra point attempts in his wildcard win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein.
Unless Maher’s struggles continue in practice this week, the Cowboys likely won’t need Vizcaino for Sunday’s NFC divisional round matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. But adding him to the practice team at least adds an alternate option should they need it.
Vizcaino is in his third season in the league after stints with the 49ers, Chargers, Cardinals and Patriots. He has scored 15 of 20 on extra point attempts and scored 11 of 12 field goals in 10 career games.
In the Cowboys’ 31-14 win over the Buccaneers, Maher became the first NFL kicker in history to miss four extra point attempts in a single game since it was first tracked nearly 100 years ago.
Maher had a very solid regular season, hitting 50-of-53 on extra point attempts and 29-of-32 on field goals.
He was “distraught” even after the game Tuesday morning, said special teams coordinator John Fassel. Maher, simply put, had the “Yips”.
“A perfect storm for bad kicks,” said Fassel. “I believe in a hot hand and I believe in the yips. Absolutely. You will sometimes wonder how to get into the yips and you will sometimes wonder how to get back into the hot hand. I think it is [to] go further to the line and shoot.”
Brett Maher missed four straight extra point attempts in the Cowboys’ wildcard win over the Buccaneers on Monday. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)