It’s been a long time coming for Giorgio Tavecchio. The former Cal Bear has been in and out of NFL training camps since 2012. It wasn’t until two years ago, he broke through to get his first shot in a regular season game with the Raiders, replacing injured long time kicker, Sebastian Janikowski.
The road for Tavecchio included offseason stints with the 49ers (2012), Packers (2013), and Lions (2014). Then a whopping SIX TIMES from 2014-2018 the Raiders signed Tavecchio.
Despite a solid 76% on field goals for Tavecchio that season, including 3 of 4 from outside 50 yards, he wasn’t viewed by new head coach Jon Gruden as the long term replacement for Janikowski.