By Tarik El-Bashir
CSNwashington.com
Five days from now, Kai Forbath will suit up for the Redskins.
He’ll be playing in a regular season NFL game first time. He’ll also have a long snapper and a holder that will have known for less than a week.
So, then, it’s probably a good thing that the low key kicker described himself Wednesday as low maintenance.
“I’m not one of those kickers that’s picky about holds and stuff,” said Forbath, who will wear No. 2 for the Redskins. “I just say, ‘Get it down and I’ll kick it.’”
Forbath replaces Billy Cundiff, who was released Tuesday after missing four of his last five field goal attempts. Forbath, 25, secured his first NFL job after beating out veteran free agents Josh Brown and Olindo Mare in a tryout at Redskins Park.
Forbath spent last season on the Cowboys’ non-football injured reserve list with a quad injury he suffered prior to signing in Dallas. This preseason, Forbath was 5 for 5, including a 53-yarder, for the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay, not surprisingly, opted to keep standout Connor Barth anyway.
Tuesday’s tryout in Ashburn was Forbath’s first since being released from Buccaneers. In the meantime, the California native had been working out at his college, UCLA.
“I was hoping” for a chance, Forbath said. “I never wish for other guys to miss. But I knew it would come before the end of the year. So now I just want to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Forbath earned the reputation in college as an accurate kicker with a strong leg, though he was not used on kickoffs, he said.
“Distance is something that’s always been in my game,” Forbath said. “I work on that as much as I work on short ones. I don’t expect to miss any long ones. I kick ‘em just like PATs.”
As for his lack of experience with kickoffs, he added: “That’s been the key thing I’ve been working on.”
Asked if he was aware that the Redskins have gone through 19 kickers since 1994, Forbath smiled and said, “I am. And I’m hoping stay here for a long time.”
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