How Veteran Gonzalez Is Viewing His Second Opportunity to Win the Kicking Job

The cruelest thing about kicking in the NFL for a living is that you can do everything right, but still lose the job. One kick can change everything, and in a kicking competition, all bets are off.

Zane Gonzalez knows this better than most, because it was only less than a year ago that he was going kick for kick against the exact competition standing between him and the starting job for the Miami Dolphins this season.

After Jason Sanders went down with a freak hip injury in pregame warm-ups last August, the Dolphins held a cattle call. Riley Patterson won the tryout that included Greg Joseph, Gonzalez and Eddy Piñeiro, and Gonzalez ended up in Atlanta, where he hit 19 of 22 field goals last season for the Falcons.

Now, he's back. Miami signed Gonzalez as a free agent this offseason, and then, in a move that tells you everything about how the NFL treats kickers, re-signed Patterson just days later.

Gonzalez walked back into the same competition he had lost, against the same man who had beaten him. But to his credit, he could not seem more unbothered about it.

Splitting Hairs

What separates Gonzalez from a guy who would be bitter about all this is that he understands the actual physics of his profession. When you ask most players about a position battle, they talk about effort, preparation, wanting it more.

Gonzalez talks about kicking footballs like a man who has read the spreadsheet and accepted its findings.

"We all had a workout here last year, and I think we all hit the ball really well," he said. "There was really splitting hairs, just kind of who the coach's preference is, which is usually kind of how it works out at the kicker's role."

How the choice as to who would be the Fins' new kicker last season aside, Patterson absolutely dunked on the opportunity, converting 27 of 29 of his field goals for a franchise-record 93.1 percent, while also nailing 97% of his extra-points.

Gonzalez ended up in Atlanta and kicked just fine, but Patterson's record-setting season is not evidence that Gonzalez was worse. It is evidence that being the second-best kicker on an NFL team is functionally identical to being unemployed.

The New Regime Reset

What makes the Gonzalez versus Patterson competition even more interesting is that they may be in the same venue, but the decision-makers have changed.

Yes, Patterson is the historically accurate incumbent. But the men who chose Patterson over Gonzalez last summer are gone. New general manager, new head coach, new special teams coordinator, new everything. The slate has been wiped clean, and what happens in camp will ultimately be more important than what happened last season.

Asked if he had to win decisively to unseat Patterson, Gonzalez made it clear he wasn't thinking that way.

"They had a new GM, new coach, new whole staff essentially here," he said. "The offseason discussions we've had, we felt really good coming in."

Gonzalez makes it clear that while unbothered by competition, his chill vibes come from the security of knowing this summer he has a place to compete at all.

"I mean, just happy to be here, honestly," he said. "I mean, this time last year, I wasn't in a building."

He did concede one edge Patterson may have over him, though, which could make Patterson a bit more comfortable as the pair trade kicks in the blazing sun, with an NFL job on the line.

"I guess he knows a little bit more people."

Unbothered by Competition

If it appears nothing rattles Gonzalez, it's because he swears it doesn't. As he tells it, the lack of emotions is the result of a long career of dealing with high-stakes drama all around him, at all times, that he's grown to accept.

"I'm kind of used to it at this point," he said. "It just kind of is what it is."

Gonzalez talks about competition in a way that seems genuinely healthy. Sure, last year didn't work out in Miami, so he kept the faith, and it worked out in Atlanta, where he nearly kicked the Falcons into the playoffs. Both kickers thrived. No hard feelings.

He calls Patterson a great dude he has known off the field for years, frames the competition as iron sharpening iron.

"You can't get too disgruntled if you don't get a workout," he said. "If you do that, you're not going to be in the league for too long. So just kind of rolling with it, having fun, and enjoying it."

The job is open again, and a rematch is scheduled.

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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 8:04 AM.