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Matt Ammendola

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Matt Ammendola
refer to caption
Ammendola with the New York Jets in 2021
Personal information
Born: (1996-12-11) December 11, 1996 (age 27)
Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:North Penn
(Towamencin Township, Pennsylvania)
College:Oklahoma State (2015-2019)
Position:Kicker
Undrafted:2020
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Field goals made:24
Field goal attempts:35
Field goal %:68.6
Longest field goal:49
Touchbacks:55
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Matt Ammendola (born December 11, 1996) is an American professional football placekicker. He played college football at Oklahoma State. After college, he signed with the Carolina Panthers, but later signed and played for the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Arizona Cardinals, and Houston Texans after going undrafted in the 2020 NFL draft.

Early life

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Ammendola was born in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, and attended North Penn High School. He kicked a school-record 56-yard kick. The previous school-record longest field goal was held by Jacksonville Jaguars placekicker Brandon McManus. Ammendola made nine field goals in 2015, which is a school-record. He made seven field goals the year before. Ammendola had 41 kickoffs into the end zone in 2015.[1]

College career

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While at Oklahoma State, Matt was a  2017 initiate of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.  On March 2, 2024, he received the chapters highest honor being inducted into the Gamma Chi Hall of Fame.

Ammendola averaged 65.1 yards and kicked off 88 times for 51 touchbacks in his freshman year. Oklahoma State led the nation in opponent starting field position thanks to Ammendola's kickoffs. He made his only attempt of his freshman year, which was a 53-yard field goal against Central Michigan.[2]

Ammendola made 23 field goals in his sophomore year, which is the third-highest single season total in Oklahoma State history. Ammendola led the conference and ranked fifth in the FBS with 23 field goals. His 23 made field goals, including his 70 made extra point attempts, also ranked as the seventh-best single-season total for an Oklahoma State player. He also made a career-high three field goals at South Alabama. Ammendola also made three field goals against Kansas and Virginia Tech during the Camping World Bowl. He recorded 65 touchbacks on 104 kickoffs and averaging 65.1 yards per kick.[2]

Ammendola ranked fourth in the Big 12, scoring 109 points in his junior year. He made 12 of his first 13 field goals to start his junior year. Ammendola was struggling when he missed five for six field goals, but Ammendola overcame his struggle when he made three field goals to finish the season off. Ammendola served as a game captain against Texas Tech.[2]

Ammendola tied for third in the Big 12 and tied for first among kickers with 108 points scored in his senior year. Ammendola converted 20 of 26 field goals. His longest field goal was a 49-yard field goal against Iowa State.[3] Ammendola made 13 field goals to start the season, and he made his last five field goals to end the season. Ammendola served as a game captain against TCU.[2]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 9+3⁄4 in
(1.77 m) 		189 lb
(86 kg) 		29+7⁄8 in
(0.76 m) 		8+3⁄4 in
(0.22 m)		 29.5 in
(0.75 m)		 8 ft 7 in
(2.62 m)		 10 reps
All values from Pro Day[4]

Carolina Panthers

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On March 24, 2021, Ammendola signed with the Carolina Panthers.[5] He was released on May 16, 2021.[6]

New York Jets

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On July 31, 2021, Ammendola signed with the New York Jets.[7] On December 4, 2021, he was released after going 13-for-19 on field goals through 11 games.[8] Three days later, Ammendola was signed to the practice squad.[9] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Jets on January 10, 2022.[10] AmmendolaHe was released on March 29, 2022.[11]

Houston Texans (first stint)

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On August 25, 2022, Ammendola signed with the Houston Texans.[12] He was waived two days later.[13]

Kansas City Chiefs

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Ammendola was signed to the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad on September 13, 2022.[14] He was then elevated via a standard elevation two days later. He was reverted to the practice squad after the game. Ammendola was elevated to the active roster for the Chiefs' Week 3 game against the Indianapolis Colts due to an injury to starting kicker Harrison Butker. During the game, Ammendola missed a field goal and an extra point. On September 26, 2022, he was released by the team.[15]

Arizona Cardinals

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On October 4, 2022, the Arizona Cardinals signed Ammendola to their practice squad.[16] Four days later, he was activated from the practice squad after an injury to starting kicker Matt Prater.[17] Ammendola started the following day against the Philadelphia Eagles, going 1–2 on field goal attempts, but missed the game-tying field goal at the end of regulation.[18] He was signed to the active roster on October 12.[19] Ammendola was released by the team on October 17.[20]

Green Bay Packers

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On January 3, 2023, Ammendola signed with the Green Bay Packers' practice squad following an injury to Ramiz Ahmed.[21]

The Houston Roughnecks acquired Ammendola's XFL playing rights on August 6, 2023.[22]

Houston Texans (second stint)

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On November 7, 2023, Ammendola was signed to the Texans practice squad following an injury to starting kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn.[23] Ammendola was promoted to the active roster on November 11. The next day, he kicked the game-winning field goal at the end of regulation against the Cincinnati Bengals.[24] Ammendola was released by the Texans on November 27, 2023, after missing the game-tying 57-yard field goal at the end of regulation the day prior at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars and was re-signed to the practice squad two days later.[25][26] He was promoted to the active roster on December 2.[27] Ammendola was released on December 12.[28]

San Antonio Brahmas

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On January 19, 2024, Ammendola signed with the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League (UFL).[29] He was released on March 10,[30] as the Brahmas chose to sign Donald De La Haye, who won an open competition with Ammendola for the team's kicker position.[31]

References

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  1. ^ "Matt Ammendola '15 Recruiting Profile". NCSASports.org. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Matt Ammendola - Football - Oklahoma State University Athletics". Oklahoma State University. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  3. ^ Unruh, Jacob (October 26, 2019). "OSU Football: Matt Ammendola delivers strong kicks on Iowa State's grass field". Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  4. ^ "2020 Draft Scout Matt Ammendola, Oklahoma State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  5. ^ Williams, Charean (March 24, 2021). "Panthers sign kicker Matt Ammendola". NBCSports.com.
  6. ^ "Matt Ammendola: Cut by Carolina". CBSSports.com. May 16, 2021.
  7. ^ Wells, MacGregor (July 31, 2021). "Jets sign Kicker Matt Ammendola, Cut Sam Ficken". SBNation.com.
  8. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (December 4, 2021). "Jets Sign K Alex Kessman to Active Roster, Release K Matt Ammendola". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  9. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (December 7, 2021). "Jets Sign RB Austin Walter, Place WR Corey Davis on Injured Reserve". NewYorkJets.com.
  10. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (January 10, 2022). "Jets Sign 10 Players to Reserve/Future Contracts". NewYorkJets.com.
  11. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (March 29, 2022). "Jets Release K Matt Ammendola". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  12. ^ Houston Texans Public Relations. "Houston Texans Transactions (8-25-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  13. ^ Houston Texans Public Relations. "Houston Texans Transactions (8-27-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  14. ^ "Matt Ammendola: Joins Chiefs' practice squad". CBSSports.com.
  15. ^ "Chiefs Make Decision On Kicker For Thursday's Game". thespun.com.
  16. ^ Urban, Darren (October 4, 2022). "Cardinals Release Andy Isabella; Sign Center Billy Price". www.azcardinals.com. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  17. ^ "Cardinals' Matt Ammendola: Will suit up vs. Philadelphia". www.cbssports.com. October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  18. ^ "Cardinals fail on late chances in 20-17 loss to Eagles". USA Today. October 10, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  19. ^ Urban, Darren (October 12, 2022). "Cardinals Put Jonathan Ward On IR; Sign Banjo, Ammendola To Roster". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  20. ^ Urban, Darren (October 17, 2022). "Cardinals Activate DeAndre Hopkins, Cut Matt Ammendola". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  21. ^ "Packers sign TE Austin Allen, K Matt Ammendola to practice squad". packers.com. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  22. ^ "XFL Transactions". www.xfl.com. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  23. ^ Wilson, Aaron. "Source: Texans signing kicker Matt Ammendola to practice squad with Ka'imi Fairbairn sidelined with strained quadriceps". click2houston.com. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  24. ^ "Matt Ammendola's 38-yard FG walks it off for the Texans". ESPN. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  25. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (11-27-2023)". houstontexans.com. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  26. ^ Crumpler, John. "Texans waive Shaq Griffin, elevate Desmond King amongst flurry of transactions". USA Today. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  27. ^ Galatzan, Matt. "Houston Texans Elevate Matt Ammendola From Practice Squad - NFL Tracker". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  28. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (12-12-2023)". houstontexans.com. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  29. ^ "The UFL Agree to Terms with 42 Players". UFLBoard.com. January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  30. ^ "UFL Teams Set their Training Camp Rosters to 58". UFLBoard.com. March 10, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  31. ^ Waters, Andres (April 3, 2024). "How a kicker went from UCF to YouTube to the UFL: Deestroying is chasing his dreams". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
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