Denver Broncos not likely to keep two kickers

As we enter the final days of Broncos training camp, position battles are getting tighter to see who will make the final 53 man roster. Perhaps the most intense battle lies in the kicking game between Connor Barth and Brandon McManus.

Both players split time on the roster last year as Barth was signed in week 13 to aide the struggling McManus, who was 9-13 in the season as the Broncos starting kicker after replacing Matt Prater. Barth came in and made 15-16 attempts while McManus handled kickoff duties after he was re-added to the roster.

It doesn’t appear the Broncos will employ a kicker by committee system this year.

Kubiak on kicking game “it’s been a good battle between those two (Barth & McManus) it’s going to be a tough, tough decision down the road.”

— Adam Kinney (@AdamKinneyRadio) August 18, 2015

McManus (3/3) and Barth (2/2) were both perfect in the Broncos pre-season opener, and both impressed in Tuesday morning’s practice session. In a game situation, McManus hit a 70-yard field goal while Barth added a 64-yarder of his own. Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis talked after practice about his kickers impressive feats. “One was a 70-yarder and the other a 64-yarder, you’re hoping you’re going to get a little separation (between the two) and they both make it. It’s a tight competition.”

Denver justified keeping two kickers on the roster last year by splitting kick-off and field goal duties between the two players. It doesn’t sound like that’s an option for DeCammilis this year. “The kick-off thing is going to come in play for whoever that guy is, so you’re going to have to be able to do both.”

If there is one knock on Barth, it’s he doesn’t have the leg to generate many touchbacks on his kick-offs. This could prove to be very important going forward as the Broncos special team units struggled mightily to defend kick returns in their pre-season opener. McManus kicked-off five times on Friday only converting one into a touchback, while both of Barth’s kick-off attempts were returned, one for a touchdown.