Ryan Succop


Ryan Barrow Succop is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He became the 2009 Mr. Irrelevant by virtue of being selected by the Kansas City Chiefs with the final pick of the 2009 NFL Draft. Succop played college football at South Carolina. He also played for the Tennessee Titans.

Early years

Succop attended Hickory High School in Hickory, North Carolina. He was a four-time all-conference and two-time all-state performer, and was named a three-time conference special teams Player of the Year. He also played soccer and scored 104 career goals. He was rated the fourth-best kicker in the nation and the sixteenth-best prospect in North Carolina by Rivals.com.

College career

Succop attended the University of South Carolina. He performed kicking, punting, and kickoff duties for the Gamecocks. His 251 career points ranks 10th on South Carolina's all-time list.
In 2005, as a freshman, he was the kickoff specialist and backup placekicker behind Josh Brown. He kicked off fifty-nine times for a 62.3 yard average with twenty-nine touchbacks. He had two field goal attempts, missing both.
In 2006, as a sophomore, he was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week after a game where he was 3-for-3 on field goals against Mississippi State. Succop handled the kicking and punting duties for the Gamecocks during his sophomore and senior seasons. He scored 85 points in 2006, which led the team and was the third-highest single-season total in school history. He also earned second-team All-SEC honors, and was named a semi-finalist for the Lou Groza Award.
In 2007, as a junior, Succop was named an Associated Press honorable mention All-SEC selection. He also earned SEC first-team preseason honors as a placekicker by the media. He was a second-team selection by the coaches and earned preseason second-team All-SEC honors as a punter by both the media and coaches. He was once again a Lou Groza Award candidate, and he was also named to the Ray Guy Award watch list. He went 13-for-17 in field goal attempts, earning SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after making all three field goals in a game. As a senior, Succop participated in all thirteen games and connected on twenty of thirty field goals which was good enough for fourth in the SEC in percentage but was the most in both attempts and makes.
In 2008, as a senior, Succop converted all 30 extra point attempts and was 20-of-30 on field goal attempts.

College statistics

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Succop was selected 256th overall, the final selection in the 2009 NFL Draft, by the Kansas City Chiefs, earning him the title of Mr. Irrelevant. He said of being drafted last, "I didn't choose to be Mr. Irrelevant. It just worked out that way. I'm just trying not to get caught up in it and focus more on the task at hand, which is trying to come in here and help the team. It's not one of those things I really think about too much, to be honest."
Succop and the Chiefs reportedly agreed on a three-year deal worth up to $1.2 million on June 17, 2009. Succop was going to compete with Connor Barth for the starting kicker job; however, Barth was released in July 2009.
On November 22, 2009, Succop kicked a 22-yard field goal in overtime to give Kansas City a 27–24 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the defending Super Bowl champions.
Succop finished his rookie season tying an NFL record for highest field goal percentage by a rookie in a season with 86.2%. He also passed NFL Hall of Famer Jan Stenerud for most field goals made by a rookie in Chiefs history. He was awarded the Mack Lee Hill Award by the Chiefs in 2009, and led the team in scoring. He scored more points than any other rookie in the NFL that year, and this placed him second in Chiefs history in scoring by a rookie. Succop was also named to NFL's All-Rookie team his rookie year.
On October 31, 2010, Succop made a 35-yard field goal as time expired in overtime to help the Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 13-10. Exactly one year later, Succop made a field goal in overtime to beat the San Diego Chargers.
Succop's 2011 campaign started by making one of his first four field goal attempts. Succop went on to make his next 21 field goals until having two attempts blocked in a week 16 loss to the Oakland Raiders.
At the end of the 2011 season, Succop signed a five-year contract extension worth $14 million, which includes $2 million in guaranteed salary and $675,000 in incentives if Succop makes a Pro Bowl and the Chiefs make the playoffs every season of his contract.
On September 23, 2012, Succop became the Chiefs all-time leader in field goals attempted and field goals made in a single game en route to a 27-24 OT win at the New Orleans Saints.
On December 29, 2013, Succop missed a 41-yard field goal against the San Diego Chargers with 4 seconds remaining in regulation. However, controversy arose over an uncalled penalty, which would have allowed a second field goal attempt. This caused the game to go into overtime and allowed the Chargers to win, preventing the Pittsburgh Steelers from getting a spot in the AFC Wildcard playoff game.
Succop was waived on August 30, 2014 during the Chiefs final preseason cuts in a salary-cap move.

Tennessee Titans

2014 season

Succop was signed by the Tennessee Titans to a one-year contract on September 1, 2014. His first game for the Titans was against his former team, making all of his four field goal attempts and converting both extra points as the Titans defeated the Chiefs 26-10 on September 7. He was re-signed after the season to a three-year $7.2 million contract. Succop finished the season making 19 field goals out of 22 attempts.

2015 season

In the 2015 season, Succop was 29-of-31 on extra point attempts and 14-of-16 on field goal attempts. He missed the first extra points of his career after an NFL rule changed made the extra point a much longer kick-The equivalent to a 33-yard field goal, as opposed to the 20 yarder it was up to that time.

2016 season

In Week 15 of the 2016 season, Succop was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after hitting the game-winning 53-yard field goal in the final seconds of a 19-17 win over the Chiefs. Overall, in the 2016 season, he converted 39-of-41 extra point attempts and 22-of-24 field goal attempts.

2017 season

Succop earned the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September 2017 for going 10-of-11 on field goals, converting all eight extra points, and leading the NFL with 38 points. In a Week 6 victory against the Indianapolis Colts, Succop converted all five field goal attempts and set a record for the most consecutive field goals inside 50 yards, earning him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for the fifth time in his career. In Week 7, the Titans won in overtime 12-9 against the Cleveland Browns when Succop kicked the game-winning field goal. Succop finished the 2017 season with career-highs of 136 points and 35 field goals and tied with Harrison Butker for the league lead in field goals attempted with 42.

2018 season

On February 20, 2018, Succop signed a five-year, $20 million contract extension with the Titans. Succop finished the 2018 season going 26-of-30 for field goals and 28-of-31 for extra points.

2019 season

After undergoing offseason knee surgery, Succop was placed on injured reserve on September 4, 2019. His replacement was Cairo Santos, who replaced Succop in 2014. He was designated for return from injured reserve on October 23, 2019, and began practicing with the team. He was added to the active roster on November 2, 2019. He was placed back on injured reserve on December 18, 2019, ending his season. He finished the 2019 season 1-of-6 for field goals, one of which was blocked, and 24-of-25 for extra points.
On March 13, 2020, Succop was released by the Titans after six seasons.

NFL statistics

Regular season

NFL records

Succop was also a three-time all-state selection in soccer with 104 career goals. Succop married Paige Cooper in 2011. They had their first child, a son, in 2015 and they also had a daughter.