There probably aren't many people who enjoy their job as much as Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Cam Little enjoys his. Of course, it's much easier to enjoy what you do for a living if you are one of the very best in the world at it. In his two seasons as Jacksonville's kicker, Little has already established himself as one of the most reliable kickers in the entire NFL. Last season, Little made 30 of his 34 field goal attempts, good for 88.3%, which was actually a slight drop from his 27 for 29, 93.1% clip as a rookie in 2024. Little may also be the league's most exciting kicker. Last year during the preseason, Little drilled a 70-yard field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That would have been an NFL record if not for the whole preseason thing. Don't feel too bad for Little, though. In November, he drilled a 68-yard field goal against the Las Vegas Raiders to set the NFL record, breaking Justin Tucker's old mark of 66. Just for kicks (pun kinda intended), he added a 67-yarder against the Tennessee Titans in Week 18. Little is grateful that he gets to do what he loves for a living. Speaking with Rachel Phillips of First Coast News, Little talked about how lucky he is and also mentioned his goals for the upcoming season.
"How Lucky Am I?"
Little loves his job. He is incredibly thankful for being able to get paid to do something he loves and spending his time at work with a group of people he loves, something he was quick to point out to Phillips. "I'm a 22-year-old guy going out here with my best friends, kicking a football through yellow posts. How lucky am I to do that?" That's a great attitude to have when there is so much pressure to do your job perfectly every single time. Players make mistakes on the football field every game, but few get the attention of when a kicker misses. In most cases, a quarterback overthrowing a receiver or a linebacker whiffing on a tackle is easily forgotten over the course of a game, but a kicker missing a field goal or extra point directly results in a loss of points and is easy to remember. Everyone remembers Scott Norwood missing wide right in Super Bowl XXV. Nobody remembers some random play in the second quarter where Jim Kelly missed an open receiver. Little's gratitude for his job certainly helps him handle the pressure that comes with it.
Goals For The Season
Of course Little would love to outdo himself and break his own field goal record this season. He admitted that to Phillips, but that is not his main goal for the season. Little wants to become automatic on field goals under 60 yards, and believes he is on his way to achieving that. "My bigger goal is just to be nails inside 55, 60. I really just want to provide consistency in that department. Yes, I get paid to make long ones...but I wanna be better at just, when our team just needs a 47 to 50-yarder, like, I can just go out there and repeat that. I think I showed that toward the end of last season." It's great to see that Little's goal is just to be more consistent as opposed to breaking his record. The 60+ yard field goals are great, but having a kicker miss from, say, 45 yards, can be back-breaking for a team.
Final Thoughts
The Jaguars are incredibly fortunate not to have to worry about their kicking game. It is a luxury that many teams do not have. For a team with expectations as high as Jacksonville's, it is such an advantage not to need to depend on a shaky kicker to go out there with the game on the line. Only 22 (at least for a few more days), Little should be the Jaguars' kicker for a long time. It's always great when a team knows it doesn't have to worry about a specific position and can focus on making improvements elsewhere. Little gave Phillips great insight as to what goes on in his head and what he is hoping to accomplish this season.