METAIRIE, La. -- In a somewhat surprising move, the New Orleans Saints released veteran kicker Shayne Graham on Tuesday, just three months after they had re-signed him as a free agent.
The Saints are apparently content to let two young kickers battle for the job this summer -- Dustin Hopkins and Zach Hocker.
The Saints signed Hocker on Monday after a weekend tryout. The second-year pro became available when he was released by the Miami Dolphins earlier this month.
Both Hopkins and Hocker are promising young kickers who were drafted: Hopkins in the sixth round by the Buffalo Bills in 2013, Hocker in the seventh round by the Washington Redskins in 2014. But neither has cracked an NFL roster yet. Both auditioned for the Saints in December while Graham was going through a mini-slump, and the Saints signed Hopkins to their practice squad soon after.
Graham, meanwhile, will return to the all-too-familiar free-agent market. The 37-year-old journeyman has spent time with 14 different NFL teams in 15 years in the league -- including his prime years with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2003-09.
Graham was solid for most of his year-plus with the Saints after joining them in December 2014, including a hero turn in their 26-24 playoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles that season. Graham made all four of his field goal attempts in that cold-weather game, including the game-winning 32-yarder as time expired. Graham missed two long kicks in nasty weather at Seattle a week later, though.
Last season, Graham made 22 of 25 field goal attempts and was named the NFC's special teams player of the week during a perfect 9-for-9 October. However, he was just 2-of-4 in December.
For his career, Graham has made 85.5 percent of his field goal attempts.