Editing Placekicker (section)

==Specialized role ==
The kicker initially was not a specialized role. Before the 1934 standardization of the [[spheroid|prolate spheroid]] shape of the ball, [[drop kick]]ing was the prevalent method of kicking field goals and conversions, but even after its replacement by place kicking, until the 1960s the kicker almost always doubled at another position on the roster. [[George Blanda]], [[Lou Groza]], [[Frank Gifford]] and [[Paul Hornung]] are prominent examples of players who were stars at other positions as well as being known for their kicking abilities. When the [[one-platoon system]] was abolished in the 1940s, the era of "two-way" players gave way to increased specialization, teams would employ a specialist at the punter or kicker position. [[Ben Agajanian]], who started his professional career in 1945, was the first confirmed place-kicking specialist in the NFL, kicking for ten teams.<ref>{{cite web|author=JIM MURRAY|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-12-15-sp-9127-story.html |title=Agajanian Kicked Football Into Age of Specialization - Los Angeles Times |publisher=Articles.latimes.com |date=December 15, 1994 |access-date=December 3, 2012}}</ref> However, there is some evidence that [[Ken Strong]] and [[Phil Martinovich]], both in 1939, and [[Mose Kelsch]], in 1933 and 1934, may have preceded Agajanian as players who spent their seasons doing nothing but kicking.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Twelve Interesting Things About The 1939 NFL Season | journal=Coffin Corner | publisher=Professional Football Researchers Association | volume=22 | issue=3 | year=2000 | pages=1–5 | url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/22-03-851.pdf | author=Hogrogian, John | access-date=August 9, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428082457/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/22-03-851.pdf | archive-date=April 28, 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Justin Tucker (cropped).jpg|thumb|299x299px|[[Justin Tucker]], the [[Most accurate kickers in NFL history|most accurate placekicker]] in [[NFL]] history.]]
Because of the difference in techniques needed, to avoid leg fatigue, and to reduce the risk of injury, on the professional level most teams employ separate players to handle the jobs. The placekicker usually will only [[Punt (gridiron football)|punt]] when the [[punter (football position)|punter]] is injured, and vice versa (one player often handles both jobs in the [[Canadian Football League]], which has smaller active rosters than in the [[NFL]]). A professional team will occasionally even have a [[kickoff specialist]] who handles only the kickoffs and serves as a backup to the kicker who handles field goals and extra points. This is typically done to further protect a premier point-scoring kicker from injury or if he, while accurate, does not have sufficient distance on kickoffs.

Amateur teams (e.g., college or high school) often do not differentiate between placekickers and punters, have different players assume different placekicking duties (for example, one person handles kicking off, another kicks long field goals, and another kicks from shorter distances), or have regular position players handle kicking duties. The last option is quite common on high school teams, when the best athletes are often the best kickers. Before the modern era of pro football, this was also the case for professional teams, particularly when most placekicks were still made in the "straight on" style outlined below.

Although kickers are protected from direct physical contact on field goal attempts, this is not generally true on kickoffs, and a kicker can see significant contact during a kick return. Kicker [[Björn Nittmo]] notably suffered severe brain damage from a hit he sustained on a kickoff in 1997.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://buffalonews.com/2017/01/27/finding-nittmo/ |title=Finding Nittmo: Answers, finally, from the NFL kicker who disappeared  |first=Tim |last=Graham |newspaper=[[The Buffalo News]] |date=January 27, 2017}}</ref>

Still, due to their lack of plays in games and lack of contact compared to other positions, the top kickers in the NFL have often had extremely long careers, far beyond that of a typical NFL player. Of the eight players in NFL history who have played beyond the age of 45, six of them are kickers: [[Morten Andersen]], [[Gary Anderson (placekicker)|Gary Anderson]], [[John Carney (American football)|John Carney]], [[Ben Agajanian]], [[Adam Vinatieri]], and [[George Blanda]] (Blanda was the oldest player in NFL history, playing until the age of 48).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oldest.org/sports/nfl-players-america/|title = 10 Oldest NFL Players Ever (Updated 2021)|date = November 11, 2017}}</ref>