The Colts waived kicker Rodrigo Blankenship on Tuesday, two days after his ongoing struggles culminated in a missed would-be 42-yard game.
Rodrigo Blankenship : Colts | Stats | Is playing today
Blankenship was born in Marietta, Georgia to Ken and Izabella Blankenship. He is of Brazilian descent through his maternal grandparents, who still live there.
After spending several years playing soccer, he began kicking footballs at ten years old.
Blankenship attended Sprayberry High School. As a high schooler, he participated in the 2014–15 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
He was ranked by 247sports.com as the ninth-best kicker in the country.
Blankenship entered Georgia in 2015 as a preferred walk-on and red-shirted his first year.
As a red-shirt freshman, Blankenship earned the starting kicker spot. During the 2016 season, Blankenship was 14-for-18 on field goals and 26-for-26 on extra points.
He led the team in scoring and was named to the All-SEC Freshman team.
Rodrigo blankenship Colts
Blankenship signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2020.
In his first game with the Colts, Blankenship made both extra-point attempts and two of three field goal attempts in a 27–20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Jaguars’ only win of the season.
In Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers, Blankenship kicked a 39 yard game-winning field goal in overtime during the 34–31 win, later earning the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award.
By the end of the regular season, Blankenship had converted 43 out of 45 extra point attempts and made 32 out of 37 field goal tries, with a long of 53 yards.
In the 27–24 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the playoffs, Blankenship made one of his two field goal attempts and converted his only extra point opportunity.
Blankenship played the first five games for the Colts before being placed on injured reserve on October 16, 2021 due to a hip injury.
On September 11, in the Colts’ season opener against the Houston Texans, Blankenship went 2-for-3 on field goals, kicking two kickoffs out of bounds and missing a potential game-winning 42-yarder in overtime as the game ended in a 20–20 tie. He was waived two days later on September 13.
Stats
Blankenship played the first five games for the Colts before being placed on injured reserve on October 16, 2021 due to a hip injury.
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On September 11, in the Colts’ season opener against the Houston Texans, Blankenship went 2-for-3 on field goals, kicking two kickoffs out of bounds and missing a potential game-winning 42-yarder in overtime as the game ended in a 20–20 tie.
| Year | Team | GP | Field Goals | Extra Points | Points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FGA | FGM | Lng | Pct | XPA | XPM | Pct | ||||
| 2020 | IND | 16 | 37 | 32 | 53 | 86.5 | 45 | 43 | 95.6 | 139 |
| 2021 | IND | 5 | 14 | 11 | 48 | 78.6 | 8 | 7 | 87.5 | 40 |
| 2022 | IND | 1 | 3 | 2 | 45 | 66.7 | 2 | 2 | 100 | 8 |
| Career | 21 | 51 | 43 | 53 | 84.3 | 53 | 50 | 94.3 | 179 | |
Blankenship is a big fan of LEGO products and speaks frequently about how he loves building up the big models in particular.
He has also formed a friendship with LEGO internet personality Ryan McCullough (MandRproductions).
An avid shoe collector, Blankenship has amassed a respectable collection of rare sneakers that he keeps at his home, notably owning sneakers with designs that he matches with his socks.
A pet owner, Blankenship owns a cat named Lucas, which he has shown in interviews made at his home.
Is playing today
The Colts waived kicker Rodrigo Blankenship on Tuesday, two days after his ongoing struggles culminated in a missed would-be 42-yard game-winning field goal in the season opener.
The Colts did not immediately fill the kicker spot on their active roster, instead signing kickers Chase McLaughlin and Lucas Havrisik to their practice squad.
Also the Colts likely will promote one of the new kickers to the active roster before their Week 2 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Colts filled Blankenship’s spot on the 53-man roster by signing cornerback Tony Brown from their practice squad.
A former college standout at Georgia, Blankenship had a rough day in Week 1.
He shanked two consecutive kickoffs out of bounds late in the game, giving the Houston Texans possession at the 40-yard line in each instance.
His issues were then compounded by the 42-yard miss in overtime, when he sent the kick shockingly wide to the right. The Colts had to settle for a 20-20 tie.