Roberto Jose Aguayo Jr. (born May 17, 1994) is an American former 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 ...

who played in 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

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

, where he was the most accurate kicker in

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) history and third in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

history. He won the

Lou Groza Award The Lou Groza Award is presented annually to the top college football placekicker in the United States by the Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns ...

in 2013. He was selected by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in the second round of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

, unusually high for a special teams player. Despite an accomplished collegiate career at Florida State, Aguayo is considered to be among the biggest busts in recent NFL history. Aguayo served as the starting kicker for the Buccaneers for only the 2016 season. He then had stints with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

, the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

and 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 ...

between 2017 and 2021 without seeing any regular season game action.

College career

Aguayo

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

for the 2012 football season, his freshman season at Florida State. Aguayo led the

(ACC) in points with 157 and

field goals 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, a ...

converted with 21 in the 2013 season. On December 12, 2013, Aguayo won the 2013

. Aguayo led the ACC in field goals made with 27 in the 2014 season. Aguayo announced his intention to forgo his senior season on January 6, 2016, to enter the

. In his three years with Florida State, he successfully connected with 69-of-78 field goal attempts and on all 198 of his

extra point Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

attempts. In July 2021,

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

named Aguayo as part of their all-time collegiate "Special Teams

Mount Rushmore The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a National Memorial (United States), national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (, or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dak ...

", alongside

Sebastian Janikowski Sebastian Paweł Janikowski (; born March 2, 1978) is a Polish former professional player of American football who was a placekicker for 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He played college fo ...

Shane Lechler Edward Shane Lechler (; born August 7, 1976) is an American former professional football player who played as a punter for 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas A&M University and was selected by ...

, and

Braden Mann Braden Mann (born November 24, 1997) is an American professional football punter for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies. During his junior season, he received unan ...

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The

selected Aguayo with the 59th overall pick in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft. They acquired the pick in a trade with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, sending their third and fourth-round selections. Aguayo was the first kicker selected in the second round since

Mike Nugent Michael Nugent (born March 2, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes football, Ohio State Buckeye ...

, who was drafted 47th overall in the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. On June 7, 2016, Aguayo signed his rookie contract, which included a $1.15 million signing bonus. In Week 11, Aguayo went 4-for-4 on field goals and was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. However, Aguayo finished the 2016 season with the worst field goal percentage in the NFL among kickers attempting more than two field goals. He went 22-of-31 on field goals as a rookie. In the 2017 off-season, the Buccaneers signed

Nick Folk Nicholas Alexander Folk (born November 5, 1984) is an American professional American football, football placekicker. He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats football, Arizona Wildcats, where he received first-team 2006 All-Pacific-10 ...

to compete with Aguayo; his $750,000 guarantee was more than Aguayo's 2017 salary. After missing a 47-yard field goal and an extra point in the Buccaneers' first preseason game, Aguayo was waived by the Buccaneers on August 12, 2017.

Chicago Bears

On August 13, 2017, Aguayo was claimed off waivers by the

. He was waived by the Bears on September 2.

Carolina Panthers

On October 25, 2017, Aguayo was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

. He was released on December 12.

Los Angeles Chargers

On January 10, 2018, Aguayo signed a reserve/future contract with the

. He went perfect in the preseason (3-of-3 on field goals and 6-of-6 on extra points) and kicked the game-winning field goal in the Chargers' final exhibition. Aguayo was waived on September 1, after losing the kicking job to Caleb Sturgis.

New England Patriots

Aguayo worked out for the

on December 21, 2020. On December 26, Aguayo was signed to the Patriots' practice squad after spending nearly two full seasons as a free agent. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. The Patriots released Aguayo on June 17. Aguayo was competing with veteran

once again and undrafted free agent Quinn Nordin.

Personal life

Aguayo's younger brother, Ricky Aguayo, took over place kicking duties for Florida State in 2016. Aguayo is of

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

descent. He lived in

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 US Census, the town had a population of 61,047. It is 84 miles north of Miami and 15 miles north of West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach. ...

, with his wife Courtney and their two toy poodles, Groza and Stella, as of 2019. In January 2021, Roberto and Courtney got a divorce. He plays golf, and completed an internship with the PGA of America in 2019.

References

External links

*
Florida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguayo, Roberto Florida State Seminoles football players Living people 1994 births American football placekickers American sportspeople of Mexican descent Players of American football from Lake County, Florida All-American college football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Chicago Bears players Carolina Panthers players Los Angeles Chargers players New England Patriots players Hispanic and Latino American players of American football