Panthers' Eddy Pineiro has been Steady Eddy: Will the team pay to keep him?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Eddy Pineiro isn’t sure when it happened — when he was running toward the opposite end zone at Allianz Arena to find his mom, when he left his feet on the way there or while being mobbed by his Carolina Panthers teammates.

But when the adrenaline began wearing off after his walk-off 36-yard field goal in the Panthers’ 20-17 overtime win against the New York Giants in Munich, Pineiro’s non-kicking knee started to hurt.

“I don’t know if it’s when I jumped up or when one of my teammates threw me up. I don’t know exactly what moment it was,” Pineiro said. “But on the way down I definitely had some pain on my knee. But thank God it’s gone away and I feel good now.”

Pineiro had fluid drained from his knee and returned after the Panthers’ bye week without missing a game. Still, getting injured celebrating a game-winning kick in Germany seems like an apt metaphor for kickers, who ride football’s highs and lows more than any other position — sometimes in the same game.

Take the Panthers’ 26-23 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last weekend. Pineiro entered the game ranked first in NFL history in field goal percentage (89.7), and drilled a 47-yarder in the first quarter to tie Graham Gano’s team record with his 41st consecutive successful field goal at Bank of America Stadium.

The good vibes didn’t last.

Pineiro pulled two second-quarter kicks wide left from 38 and 45 yards, missing a chance to pass Gano and costing the Panthers points in a tight game. Pineiro bounced back to make his last two fields. But his 3-for-5 day dropped him two spots on the all-time field goal list at 88.5 percent — behind the Kansas City Chiefs’ Harrison Butker (89.2) and the Baltimore Ravens’ Justin Tucker (89.0).

“It just goes to show that’s just how the game goes. You’ll be at the top one day and then be at the bottom another day,” Pineiro said. “That’s just part of the kicking world.”

Panthers coach Dave Canales didn’t have a background with Pineiro before arriving in January — and then didn’t see him until mandatory minicamp as Pineiro worked out in Florida while angling for a contract extension. But Canales appreciates Pineiro’s consistency and his approach, and wants his kicker — and all his players — to know he has their back after a tough game.

“I think it’s really important as coaches that we just extend confidence in these guys to say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna come back to you,’” Canales said. “Whether it’s the pass game, whether it’s Eddy — just like, ‘Eddy, we’re gonna be in these situations again. We know you’ll nail it.’ He’s been so consistent, just be you. Be who you are.”

Pineiro has been Steady Eddy since coming to Charlotte in 2022 as a replacement for Zane Gonzalez, who injured his quad while warming up on the sideline during the third preseason game. Pineiro’s 89.5 field goal percentage ranks ahead of John Kasay and Gano in the Panthers’ record book, although his predecessors took considerably more kicks than Pineiro.

How they rank: All-time Carolina kickers

RANK	KICKER	FGM	FGA	FG%
1	John Kasay	351	424	82.8
2	Graham Gano	165	193	85.5
3	Eddy Pineiro	77	86	89.5
4	Joey Slye	54	68	79.4
5	Joe Nedney	26	28	92.9

The same thing could be said of Tucker and Butker, which is why some questioned whether Pineiro’s brief hold on the top spot — which lasted one game and part of another — deserved an asterisk.

Said Pineiro: “I’ve made the ones that I’ve gotten a chance to make.”

Panthers punter Johnny Hekker was more expansive when defending his friend and teammate.

“You don’t have your name in that conversation if you don’t earn it,” he said. “People can talk about kick counts and whatever they want. They can try to put some sort of limitations on it. But the fact of the matter is when you put Eddy out there to kick, you have very high hopes he’s gonna make it. There’s not a lot of places in the NFL where they can say that about their kicker taking the field.”

Pineiro has made 19 of 22 field goals this season — an 86.4 percentage that ranks 11th among the 27 kickers with at least 20 attempts. Pineiro has tried only one kick 50 yards or longer, hitting a 53-yarder earlier in the win against the Giants in Munich.

That’s the fewest among kickers who have attempted 20 or more field goals. Two kickers have two tries of 50-plus: the Arizona Cardinals’ Chad Ryland, who took over for an injured Matt Prater in Week 5, and the Buffalo Bills’ Tyler Bass, who hit a 61-yarder against the Miami Dolphins during a season in which he’s missed four extra points.

For his career, Pineiro has attempted just 13 field goals from 50 and out in five seasons. Houston Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn has attempted 16 field goals of at least 50 yards this season.

While Pineiro isn’t viewed as having one of the bigger legs in the league, he’s been dependable from long distance. Among kickers with at least 10 field-goal attempts of 50-plus yards since 2019 when Pineiro entered the league, his 84.6 conversion percentage ranks second.

“I don’t focus on who’s No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4. Just focusing on how I can make kicks and help the team win,” Pineiro said of the various statistics. “That’s really all that matters because these guys give it all on the field for us. It sucks when you miss one.”

And no one makes them all — even Tucker, the kicker on the 2010s all-decade team, a seven-time Pro Bowler and owner of the longest field goal in NFL history (a 66-yarder in 2021). But the 35-year-old has missed a career-high 10 kicks this year, including eight field goals.

“Even the best guys — a lot of guys struggle,” Pineiro said. “It’s part of the game.”

Pineiro’s next game will be Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. The Philadelphia Eagles’ home isn’t the nicest place for opposing players — kickers included.

“My goal is to get out of Sunday alive in that stadium,” Pineiro said. “It’s gonna be cold. It’s windy. Fans are crazy there.”

After Sunday, the Panthers have two home games before finishing at two kicker-friendly locales — Tampa and indoors at Atlanta. Pineiro, who will become a free agent in March, hopes to stick with the Panthers, who weren’t interested in negotiating with him before the season.

“It is what it is. The team has a friendly deal on him. They said, you know what, we’re not going to jump at the bit to put the cart in front of the horse,” Hekker said. “Eddy’s handled it well. He said, what will be, will be. I’m gonna work hard and enjoy this season for what it is. Enjoy the camaraderie we have and do our best to make that dollar amount go up for when free agency does come around again.”