Chad Michael Ryland (born October 15, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Eastern Michigan Eagles The Eastern Michigan Eagles, formerly known as the Normalites and the Hurons, are the athletic teams for Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. The Eagles compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ...

and

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

Early life

Ryland was born in

Lebanon, Pennsylvania Lebanon ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,814 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lebanon was founded by George Steitz in 1740 and was originally named ...

. He attended Cedar Crest High School but initially only played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. He was convinced to tryout for the

team as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

by his father. He made the team and in both years was named an all-league and all-county selection at

. To train, he and his father often snuck onto the school's athletic field after it was closed, and when they sometimes were told to leave, they briefly left, but then returned and Ryland continued practicing. He was ranked a five-star kicker and the 24th-best nationally at the position by Kohl's kicking camps.

College career

Ryland was a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album) or the title song, 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album) or the title song, 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album) or the title song, 1992 *''Walk On'', by Kellie Coffey, 200 ...

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

, and won the starting job as a true

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

. In his second game, he made the most memorable kick of his career: a game-winning 24-yard

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

as time expired to upset heavy favorite

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

20–19. Although he had a good performance to start the year, his play declined over the course of the season, and he finished having made only 12-of-20 field goal attempts, although Ryland did successfully convert all 41 PATs. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

at Eastern Michigan in 2019, Ryland appeared in all 13 games and made 35 PATs, additionally making 14-of-19 field goal tries. Against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, he converted a 24-yard game-winning field goal attempt in the final seconds. He was a second-team all-conference choice after the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

-shortened 2020 season, in which he ranked top-20 nationally with a field goal percentage of 84.6, converting 11-of-13 attempts. The following year, Ryland set a team record with 104 points in a season after making 19-of-22 field goals and all 47 of his attempted PATs. Ryland transferred to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in 2022, finishing his stint at Eastern Michigan as their all-time leading scorer with 309 points. In his only season at Maryland, he appeared in every game and was named second-team all-conference after converting 19-of-23 field goal attempts, including being 3-for-6 on attempts of over 50 yards.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Ryland was selected by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in the fourth round (112th overall) of the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

. In Week 16 on Christmas Eve night, although having missed an earlier field goal attempt and a point after attempt against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, Ryland made a 56 yard field goal with two seconds on the clock for a 26–23 win. In total, Ryland made 16 of 25 field goal attempts (64%) and 24 of 25 extra point attempts (96%) in the

2023 NFL season The 2023 NFL season was the 104th season of the National Football League (NFL). The regular season began on September 7, 2023, with defending Super Bowl LVII champion Kansas City losing to Detroit in the NFL Kickoff Game, and ended on January ...

; his field goal percentage was the lowest in the league among qualified kickers. On August 27, 2024, Ryland was waived by the Patriots as part of the final roster cuts after losing the kicking job to

Joey Slye Joseph David Slye (born April 10, 1996) is an American professional American football, football placekicker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies football, Virgini ...

Arizona Cardinals

Ryland was signed to the

practice squad on October 2, 2024. On October 15, he was signed to the active roster following an injury to

Matt Prater Matthew Phillip Prater (born August 10, 1984) is an American professional football placekicker. Regarded as one of the best long distance kickers in NFL history, he held the NFL record for longest field goal (64 yards) from 2013 until 2021 and ...

. He was named NFC special teams player of the month in October after kicking 3 game-winning field goals and going 8–9 overall.

NFL career statistics

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2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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!! ARI , 13 , , 28 , , 32 , , 87.5 , , 1 , , 58 , , 26 , , 27 , , 96.3 , , 59 , , 65.3 , , 47 , , 99 , - ! colspan="2"
Total
!! 30 !! 44 !! 57 !! 77.2 !! 1 !! 58 !! 50 !! 52 !! 96.2 !! 119 !! 64.4 !! 86 !! 171

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bioMaryland Terrapins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryland, Chad Living people American football placekickers Sportspeople from Lebanon, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania Eastern Michigan Eagles football players Maryland Terrapins football players New England Patriots players Arizona Cardinals players 1999 births