BALTIMORE, MD. — Former Drake standout Billy Cundiff survived the final National Football League cuts Saturday, retaining his job as the Baltimore Ravens regular placekicker.
The 30-year-old native of Harlan, Iowa, beat out 32-year-old Shayne Graham, who was cut by the team.
Cundiff converted 15-of-20 field goals in 14 regular-season and playoff games last year for the Ravens, but the incumbent was thought to be the underdog against Graham, the fourth-most accurate kicker in NFL history who had been unceremoniously released by the Cincinnati Bengals in the offseason.
In the preseason, Cundiff appeared to take a slight lead. In training camp workouts when reporters were permitted to watch, he connected on 82 of 96 attempts, a success rate of 85.4 percent. Graham converted 83 of 103 attempts, or 80.5 percent.
In three preseason games — neither kicker got a chance in the Ravens' preseason finale against the St. Louis Rams last Thursday night — Cundiff went 3-for-3. Graham was 2-for-3, missing from 50 yards.
"Billy (Cundiff) won a great competition, and he earned this spot," said Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh. "We've talked about this the entire preseason: Both Billy and Shayne rose to the occasion and performed at high levels. We know Shayne will kick in the league, but we feel very good about the decision to go with Billy."
Cundiff closed out his career at Drake owning 15 school and five Pioneer Football League records, including Drake career marks for points (284), field goals (49-of-79) and PATs (137-of-151). He also ranked 14th on the NCAA I-AA career field goal list, connecting on 49. Cundiff made eight field goals over 50 yards during his career at Drake, including a Pioneer Football League record 62-yard field goal as a junior in 2000 against San Diego.
Cundiff has played in the National Football League for eight years, including stints with Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Green Bay, Kansas City and New Orleans.
He signed as a free agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys in 2002. His bid to beat out incumbent Dallas kicker Tim Seder was well chronicled nationally on the weekly HBO TV Show: Hard Knocks: Inside the Cowboys Training Camp.
And he was rewarded for his hard work by winning the job as the regular kicker for the Dallas Cowboys. As a rookie, he made all 25 PAT conversions, along with 12 field goals.
Cundiff was named the National Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week Sept. 30, 2002, after kicking a 48-yard field goal on the game's final play to give the Cowboys a 13-10 victory against NFC defending champion St. Louis. He further solidified his NFL career in 2003 by making 23-of-29 field goals, including three beyond 50 yards for Dallas.
He tied a National Football League record by making seven field goals in a 2003 Monday Night Football game at the New York Giants, including a 52-yarder on the final play of regulation to send the game into overtime, followed by a 25-yard kick that gave the Cowboys a 35-32 victory.
His kicking shoe from the record-tying effort is on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Cundiff made 20-of-26 field goals in 2004, including three in the regular season finale at the New York Giants. He set the Dallas Cowboys record for longest field goal from 56 yards against the Detroit Lions in 2005.
