The Buffalo Bills released Stephen Hauschka, their starting kicker since 2017, the team announced Thursday, nearly one year to the day after giving him a two-year contract extension.
Buffalo selected Georgia Southern kicker Tyler Bass in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL draft, igniting a position battle that took roughly a month to resolve.
Hauschka won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in 2013 and signed with the Bills four years later, making 87.9% of his kicks in his first season in Buffalo. He made 78.6% of his field goals in each of his past two seasons, however, including just 41.7% of his attempts for 50 yards or longer.
His accuracy from 50-plus yards ranks last out of 11 kickers to attempt at least 10 field goals from that distance over the past two seasons.
The Bills gave Hauschka a two-year extension on August 28, 2019. He spent six seasons as Seattle's starting kicker after stints in Baltimore and Denver.