Tyler Bass

Career StatsD+

Year	Team	GP	FG%
Career		83	84.5%
2025		1	75.0%
2024		17	82.8%
2023		17	82.8%
2022		16	87.1%
2021

Season	Team	GP	Grade
2024		17	D D Bottom 20%
2023		17	D D Bottom 20%
2022		16	C+ C+ Top 48% — above average
2021		17	C+ C+ Top 48% — above average
2020		16	D D Bottom 20%

Grades reflect the player's performance in each season. Header grade shows the current season.

Current Contract

Contract Value Index (CVI)

Performance versus salary tier earns Tyler Bass a C- Contract Value Index, with cap structure shaping the verdict. Bass appeared in just one game during the 2025 season before landing on injured reserve, leaving him with virtually no production cushion to justify a $3.375M AAV on a two-year deal at a position where reliability is the entire value proposition. Kickers at this salary range are typically expected to be league-average or better; Bass's D+ performance grade and the organization's decision to restructure his deal downward signal that Buffalo no longer views him as meeting that threshold. At 29 years old and six seasons into his career, Bass is in the phase where a veteran kicker should be in his prime, yet the emergence of Matt Prater as legitimate competition—combined with the media's framing of Bass as a "roster bubble candidate" rather than an incumbent—suggests the Bills have real doubts about his long-term viability. The contract restructure is the clearest institutional tell: it reduces near-term cap commitments while keeping an exit route available, a move that protects the organization far more than it protects the player. Without a strong return from injury and a decisive training camp win over his competition, Bass enters 2026 as a reclamation project rather than a trusted specialist, making his CVI reflect the mismatch between his salary expectations and his current standing.

Contracts in the Same Value Band

Other same-position deals the Contract Value Index also places in the C band — a quick read on where Tyler's contract sits relative to comparable money.

Performance Analysis

The D+ performance grade on Tyler Bass reflects how his statistical baseline holds against the kicker field. Bass appeared in just one game during the 2025 season, a stark departure from the consistent snap share expected of a franchise specialist, leaving little empirical ground to evaluate his actual on-field execution. The single-game sample offers no meaningful production data to assess his accuracy or leg strength relative to peers, making the grade fundamentally a reflection of availability rather than performance when healthy. At 29 years old and in his sixth NFL season, Bass should be entering a prime window for kicker consistency, yet instead he finds himself sidelined by injury and understudy to veteran competition—a dramatic shift from his earlier standing in Buffalo. The contract restructure that accompanied his injured reserve designation signals organizational doubt that goes beyond typical injury recovery protocol; when a franchise moves to reduce guaranteed money for a once-trusted specialist, it telegraphs a loss of confidence that no single training camp performance can easily reverse. Without sustained health and a dominant showing in competition against Matt Prater, Bass is facing the very real possibility that his tenure in Buffalo has fundamentally changed from incumbent to contingency, a precarious position for a player who should be near the prime of his career.

How Tyler Compares at the Position

Tyler Bass ranks 29th of 39 graded pks by performance. That slots Tyler between Andy Borregales (C-) just ahead and Matt Gay (D+) just behind.

Current Sentiment

Tyler Bass enters the 2026 offseason with his public standing in Buffalo at a genuine low — the narrative around him has deteriorated to the point where the conversation has shifted entirely from "reliable incumbent" to "roster bubble candidate." The driving force behind that collapse is straightforward: a lost 2025 campaign that ended with Bass appearing in just one game before landing on injured reserve, followed by a contract restructure that sent an unmistakable organizational signal about wavering confidence in their once-trusted specialist. His on-field grade compounds the reputational damage — a D performance rating means there is no production cushion to soften the blow of the off-field noise, leaving Bass with little empirical ground to stand on heading into camp. The emergence of Matt Prater as legitimate competition has reframed the entire position conversation in Buffalo, with media coverage now treating Bass not as a veteran reclaiming his health but as a player in a genuine fight for a job he used to own outright. Recent headlines have been clinical and largely unflattering, treating his pay cut and IR stint as evidence of institutional doubt rather than a temporary detour for a trusted specialist. The Bills' offseason activity — adding bodies at multiple positions — has done nothing to rehabilitate the kicker narrative, and the absence of any public vote of confidence from the organization only lets the uncertainty fester. The bottom line: Bass is a six-year veteran who has gone from foundational piece to question mark in the span of one injury-shortened season, and without a strong training camp showing, the narrative arc does not bend favorably.