Taylor Bertolet (born October 24, 1992) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

and holds a school record for most extra points in a single season.

College career

In 2012, Bertolet and

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Johnny Manziel Johnathan Paul Manziel ( ; born December 6, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and was also a mem ...

became the first freshmen to surpass 100 points in a season. Bertolet kicked for a total of a career-high 106 points including 13 field goals and a school record 67 extra points. Bertolet kicked a season-long 54-yard field goal against

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

. Bertolet was mainly the Aggies

kickoff specialist A kickoff specialist is a special teams position in gridiron football. They are responsible for kicking the ball in the kickoff. These players tend to have a strong leg, often capable of making touchbacks, and capable of keeping a ball in the bound ...

for the 2013 and 2014 season, losing placekicking job to

Josh Lambo Joshua Gregory Lambo (born November 19, 1990) is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2015 and then signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 17, 2017. H ...

. In 2015, Bertolet kicked a career-high 22 field goals on 31 attempts for a career-high 71% field goal percentage. Bertolet kicked a career-long 55-yard field goal against

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

. Bertolet tied

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

and school records by making six field goals against Vanderbilt. He tied Alan Smith's six field goals in 1983 against

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage l ...

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

After going undrafted in the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

, Bertolet signed with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

on May 4, 2016. On August 30, 2016, he was released by the Rams.

Denver Broncos

On March 21, 2018, Bertolet signed with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. On April 30, 2018, he was waived by the Broncos.

New York Jets

On May 7, 2018, Bertolet was signed by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. He was waived by the Jets on September 1, 2018, after losing the starting kicking job to

Jason Myers Jason Myers (born May 12, 1991) is an American football placekicker for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Marist Red Foxes football, Marist. Professional career Arena Football League In th ...

Salt Lake Stallions

Before the 2019 season, Bertolet signed with the

Salt Lake Stallions The Salt Lake Stallions were a professional American football franchise based in Salt Lake City, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which began play in February 2019. The Stallions were the northernmost team i ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

Denver Broncos (second stint)

After the AAF filed for bankruptcy, Bertolet re-signed with the

on April 29, 2019. He was waived on July 23, 2019.

New York Jets (second stint)

On August 11, 2019, Bertolet was signed by the New York Jets after

Chandler Catanzaro Chandler Catanzaro (born February 26, 1991) is a former American football placekicker. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2014 and later played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets, and Carolina Panthers. ...

retired during preseason. He was waived by the Jets on September 1, 2019.

Carolina Panthers

On October 24, 2020, Bertolet was signed to the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

practice squad. He was released on November 2, 2020, and re-signed to the practice squad on November 7. He was released again on November 10, and re-signed to the practice squad again on November 14. He was released on November 16, and re-signed again on November 21. Bertolet was released a fourth time on November 24, 2020, but re-signed four days later. He was released again on December 1, 2020.

Minnesota Vikings

On December 19, 2020, Bertolet was signed to the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

' practice squad. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 11, 2021.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Bertolet signed with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

on June 29, 2021. He was released on November 15, 2021.

New Orleans Breakers

Bertolet signed with the New Orleans Breakers of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

on May 5, 2022.

Carolina Panthers (second stint)

Bertolet signed to the Carolina Panthers' practice squad on September 9, 2022. He was released on September 13.

Los Angeles Chargers

Bertolet was signed to the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

practice squad on October 6, 2022. On October 9, he was elevated to the active roster, and made his first 3 NFL field goals that day, over 6 years from the start of his pro career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertolet, Taylor 1993 births Living people American football placekickers Carolina Panthers players Denver Broncos players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Los Angeles Chargers players Los Angeles Rams players Minnesota Vikings players New Orleans Breakers (2022) players New York Jets players Players of American football from Pennsylvania Salt Lake Stallions players Sportspeople from Reading, Pennsylvania Texas A&M Aggies football players