CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Eddy Piñeiro is quietly showing how you can make a great opportunity out of a bad situation.
When kicker Zane Gonzalez went down with a season-ending injury in the preseason, it seemed that the Carolina Panthers were going to have to scrape the bottom of the free agency barrel to pick up a replacement.
Instead, they signed a player who's been on three teams in four years that is turning out to be one of the league's most accurate kickers.
The Panthers signed Piñeiro hoping he could replicate his 2021 season with the New York Jets when he made all eight field goal attempts after joining the team midseason. Despite his accuracy, Piñeiro was cut from the Jets in favor of Greg Zuerlein.
New York's loss was Carolina's gain. He made his first eight kicks to begin the 2022 NFL season for the Panthers and has now nailed 25 of his 27 attempts.
Piñeiro's consistency has finally gotten him some attention in league circles as he was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after the Panthers 30-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
In the Week 14 contest, Piñeiro hit all three field goal attempts as well as three extra point attempts for a total of 12 points in the six-point victory.
This is the second time Piñeiro has won the award. He was bestowed with the honor in Week 2 of the 2019 season in his rookie year with the Chicago Bears.
Piñeiro has had a great year up to this point. He is first in 40-49 field goals made (10), third in the league in field goal percentage (92.6%), and fifth in field goals made (25).
Piñeiro is the sixth Panthers kicker to earn this award, the last being Gonzalez in Week 10 of 2021.
The only other Panthers player to win a player of the week award this year was Brian Burns in Week 12.