Justin Medlock joins a new feline team, the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, leaving the Tiger-Cats in a bind

Justin Medlock may not be a Tiger-Cat any more, but he's still a member of the feline family; the Hamilton kicker/punter has signed a deal with the NFL's Carolina Panthers, which has been confirmed by both him and the Panthers. Medlock's departure is a notable loss for the Tiger-Cats, as he had an excellent season last year, finishing second (to B.C.'s Paul McCallum, who had a historic season) in both field goals made (50 to 49) and percentage (94.3 to 89.1) and tied for second (with Sean Whyte) in kicking points. His punting average of 41.6 yards wasn't as great, but he was certainly competent in that area as well (and he's going to Carolina as a kicker to compete with Olindo Mare, so he won't have to worry about punting there). With Medlock gone, the Tiger-Cats will now have to find new options to handle their punting and kicking.

That may not be all that easy. The team does have Canadian Josh Maveety (who was on their practice roster last year), but he's unproven at the CFL level and hasn't done all that well with punting. The only remaining free agent punter or kicker who played in the CFL last season is Saskatchewan's Eddie Johnson, and although he's one of the most interesting CFL players out there, he had a down 2011 season from a statistical perspective, averaging just 41.6 yards per punt and only converting 71.4 per cent of his field goals. His playing time was limited by injury issues, so that may have been a factor, but it's difficult to see him as a top field-goal option (although he might be a good acquisition as a punter if they could find a reliable kicker to pair him with). There are other options, of course, including signing someone from the U.S. (either an NFL cut, a NCAA guy who goes undrafted or someone from one of the indoor leagues), trading for one of the surplus kickers in Edmonton, Calgary or Montreal or drafting a CIS guy, but they're certainly not as simple as bringing back Medlock would have been.

One advantage the Tiger-Cats do have is that they've already planned to use an import as punter/kicker, so the range of guys they could bring in without affecting their non-import ratio is considerably wider. If they're able to find a capable Canadian, that's a bonus that would free them up to play an extra import elsewhere, but unlike many teams, they weren't counting on having a Canadian fill that role. That gives them flexibility in their kicking search, and that's a positive thing. It's worth pointing out that Hamilton can be a difficult place to kick, though, and a tough one to adjust to; just ask Sandro DeAngelis (who is available, but the chances of him returning to the Tiger-Cats can be summarized as slim to none). Medlock found a way to adapt and excel, and his kicking gave Hamilton a great advantage in 2011. Now they'll have to look elsewhere to try and replicate that in 2012.