Gregory Zuerlein (; born December 27, 1987) is an American professional football placekicker. A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, he played college football for the Nebraska–Omaha Mavericks and Missouri Western Griffons. Zuerlein was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft. He also played for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.
Early life Zuerlein was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and graduated from Lincoln Pius X in 2006. As a junior in 2004, Zuerlein set a Nebraska state record for field goals in a season, converting 12-of-16 attempts with a long of 52 yards.His successful play would earn him Nebraska All-State and All-Class honors as a junior and senior. Zuerlein also practiced soccer and was a 2005 Sports Illustrated preseason high school All-American.
College career Zuerlein accepted a football scholarship from the NCAA Division II University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO). As a sophomore in 2008, he set a school record with 61 consecutive extra points made.
As a junior in 2009, Zuerlein set school records with 17 field goals in a single-season (17-for-23) extra points in a career with 131. He made a career-long 52-yard field goal against West Texas A&M University in the Kanza Bowl. He finished the season 9 field goals shy of the school all-time career record of 45.
As a senior in 2010, Zuerlein was given a medical redshirt with a hip injury.
In 2011, UNO canceled its football program, so Zuerlein was forced to transfer to another Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association school, Missouri Western State University. There, he set the NCAA Division II record of 21 consecutive field goals, nine of which were beyond 50 yards. Zuerlein set the school record with a 58-yard field goal against Northwest Missouri State University twice. He had a .952 field goal percentage by making 23 of 24 attempts, which was the highest of any NCAA player in any division with 12 or more attempts in 2011 as Zuerlein averaged 10.7 points per game.
Professional career
St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams 2012 season Zuerlein was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the sixth round (171st overall) of the 2012 NFL draft. He was the first non-Football Bowl Subdivision kicker to be drafted since Stephen Gostkowski in 2006, and the first below the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision since Paul Ernster in 2005. The Rams cut their primary kicker Josh Brown, who was in the final year of his $14.5 million five-year deal, the same weekend they drafted Zuerlein.
Zuerlein made his NFL debut in the season opener against the Detroit Lions and converted two extra point attempts and three field goal attempts in the 27–23 loss. In Week 3, against the Chicago Bears, he made a 56-yard field goal, the longest at Soldier Field. In Week 4, he hit a 60-yard field goal against the Seattle Seahawks, which beat the franchise record of 58 yards, set by Zuerlein earlier in the same game. The kick broke Jeff Wilkins' 14-year record. He became the first player in NFL history to make a 60-yard field goal and a 50-plus yarder in the same game. He was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his effort against the Seahawks. In Week 6, Zuerlein missed three field goals wide left, the first two from 37 and 52 yards, and the final one at 66 yards to tie the game against the Miami Dolphins. In Week 13, Zuerlein made a 54-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Rams a 16–13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at the Edward Jones Dome. It was the second longest successful field goal in NFL overtime history, three yards short of the NFL overtime record, which is held by Sebastian Janikowski. He earned another NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award for his game against the 49ers.
In 2012, Zuerlein attempted 13 field goals of 50 yards or longer, converting seven. Zuerlein converted all 26 extra point attempts and 23 of 31 field goals as a rookie.
2013 season Zuerlein started the 2013 season off converting all four field goal attempts and one extra point attempt in the 27–24 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. The 13 points he scored in the season opener was his highest scoring in one game on the season. Overall, Zuerlein was a reliable kicker when called upon, converting all 34 extra point attempts and 26 of 28 field goals in the 2013 season as the Rams finished with a 7–9 record.
2014 season In Week 2, Zuerlein converted four field goal attempts and one extra point to help provide the difference in the narrow 19–17 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During Week 11, against the Denver Broncos, he converted all five field goal attempts and one extra point in the 22–7 victory. Zuerlein earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for the third time in his career.
Zuerlein finished the 2014 season converting 34 of 35 extra points and 24 of 30 field goals.
2015 season During the season opener against the Seahawks, Zuerlein converted all four extra point attempts and both field goal attempts in the 34–31 overtime victory. In Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers, he converted one of four field goal attempts in the 24–10 loss, the first time since his rookie year that he missed three in a single game. During Week 9 against the Minnesota Vikings, Zuerlein converted four of five field goal attempts for a season-high 12 points scored in the 21–18 loss. He missed two games due to a groin injury.
Zuerlein finished the 2015 season coverting 26 of 28 extra points and 20 of 30 field goals.
2016 season
The Rams made the decision to move from St. Louis to Los Angeles prior to the 2016 season. On April 15, 2016, Zuerlein signed a one-year contract to return to the Los Angeles Rams.
After the Rams were shut out on the road 28–0 against the 49ers during the season-opener, Zuerlein provided all the scoring in the 9–3 victory over the Seahawks the following week. Three weeks later against the Buffalo Bills, he converted all four field goal attempts and an extra point in the 30–19 loss.
Zuerlein finished the 2016 season converting all 23 extra point attempts and 19 of 22 field goal attempts. The Rams' offense did not provide a lot of opportunities for Zuerlein compared to the past and he scored a career-low 80 points as the Rams finished with a 4–12 record.
2017 season On March 14, 2017, Zuerlein signed a three-year contract extension with the Rams.
During the season opener against the Indianapolis Colts, Zuerlein converted three field goals and five extra points in the 46–9 victory. He tied with Oakland Raiders' kicker Giorgio Tavecchio for the most points scored by a kicker in Week 1 with 14. Three weeks later, Zuerlein broke the Rams record for the most field goals in a game going 7-for-7 (surpassing Jeff Wilkins in 2006) against the Dallas Cowboys in the Rams' 35–30 upset victory, earning him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for the fourth time in his career. Zuerlein was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month award for his strong performances in October.
During Week 10, Zuerlein converted all four field goals, including a 50-yarder in a 33–7 win over the Houston Texans, earning him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. On December 20, 2017, Zuerlein was placed on injured reserve due to a back injury. This news came a day after it was announced the Zuerlein was named to his first Pro Bowl. Zuerlein also earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November. He was later named as a First-team All-Pro. Zuerlein finished the season leading the league in scoring with 158 points and 11.3 points per game.
2018 season During the season opener against the Raiders on Monday Night Football, Zuerlein converted all three extra point attempts as well as four of five field goal attempts, including a 55-yarder in the 33–13 road victory, earning him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for the sixth time in his career. However, Zuerlein suffered a groin injury in pregame warmups before the next game against the Cardinals. He returned to action in Week 7 against the 49ers, converting four extra point attempts and three field goal attempts during the 39–10 victory victory.
During Week 11, against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football, he converted six of seven extra point attempts and three field goal attempts in the historic 54–51 victory. In the regular season finale against the 49ers, he converted all six extra point attempts and both field goal attempts during the 48–32 victory.
Zuerlein finished the 2018 season converting 35 of 36 extra point attempts and 27 of 31 field goals. The Rams finished atop the NFC West with a 13–3 record and earned the #2-seed in the playoffs. In the Divisional Round against the Cowboys, he converted three extra-point attempts and three of four field-goal attempts during the 30–22 victory. During the NFC Championship Game against the New Orleans Saints, Zuerlein was instrumental in the Rams' controversial 26–23 overtime road victory, hitting all four of his field-goal attempts. This included a 48-yard field goal near the end of regulation to send the game into overtime, and then a 57-yard field goal to win the game in sudden death overtime, sending the Rams to Super Bowl LIII. The winning kick tied the record for the longest successful field goal in NFL overtime history. In the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, Zuerlein made a 53-yard field goal late in the third quarter to score the first Rams’ points and tie the game at 3–3. With eight seconds left in the game and his team down 13–3, he missed a 48-yard field goal that would have set up the Rams for a desperation attempt to tie or win the game with an ensuing onside kick recovery and a Hail Mary pass.
2019 season In the 2019 season, Zuerlein converted 24 of 33 field goal attempts and all 42 extra point attempts.
Dallas Cowboys 2020 season On March 30, 2020, the Cowboys signed Zuerlein to a three-year, $7.5 million contract. The signing reunited him with former Rams special teams coordinator John Fassel.
During the season opener against his former team, the Los Angeles Rams, Zuerlein made a 33-yard field goal, but also had a 53-yard miss in the second quarter of the 20–17 road loss. In the next game against the Atlanta Falcons, he was still struggling from a lack of consistency and missed two additional field goals, before capping off a historic 20-point comeback by kicking a 46-yard field goal to narrowly win 40–39 as time expired. With 1:49 minutes left to play and the Cowboys down 39–37, Zuerlein kicked an onside kick which the Cowboys recovered, giving them the opportunity to have the final winning drive. The style of kick he used, would later come to be known as the "Watermelon Kick". During Week 13 against the Baltimore Ravens, Zuerlein connected on his first field goal attempt, but missed the next three in a 34–17 loss.
Overall, Zuerlein converted 34 of a league leading and career-high 41 field goals (82.9%) and went 33-of-36 (91.7%) on extra point attempts. Six of his seven misses were on attempts from over 50 yards, as he only made 3 of his 9 attempts beyond that mark.
2021 season Zuerlein had back surgery during the offseason, which forced him to rest and only kick one field goal attempt (56-yard miss) in the preseason, with Hunter Niswander and Lirim Hajrullahu handling the kicking and kickoff duties. On August 25, 2021, he was taken off the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list (PUP).
During the season opener against the Buccaneers, even though Zuerlein made three field goals, he also missed a field goal and an extra point, which included a 60-yard field goal near the end of the first half of the narrow 31–29 road loss. In the next game against the Los Angeles Chargers, although Zuerlein was facing scrutiny in the press for his performance, he was able to make a 56-yard field goal as time expired to close the 20–17 road victory.