Evan McPherson, the Bengals’ all-time postseason scoring leader, continues his march up the franchise all-time scoring ladder with a revamped kicking routine.
McPherson, who missed the final five games last year on injured reserve, has made his rehab regimen part of his overall plan with an eye to stretching out his durability.
“Health is the most important thing I’m focusing on. I can’t play this game if I’m hurt,’ McPherson says. “This offseason, I’m trying to figure out more ways to strengthen the small muscles that I had problems with and just continue to do that. With all that work in strengthening it, I’m making sure I’m back stronger than ever. Training those little muscles you don’t even think about.”
McPherson tore his abductor muscle Dec. 1 against the Steelers after battling soreness there in small stretches during his first two seasons. In an effort to make sure the muscles hold up, his new routine adds anywhere from an extra 30 minutes to an hour to his work. The greatest rookie kicker ever suddenly turns 26 the week his fifth training camp opens, and he’s learned some things and comes in kicking at 100 percent.
“I make sure to at least lengthen my warmup where I’m actually warming up and not just stretching,” McPherson says. “Actually getting the muscles fired up and ready to go. Make sure I touch everything. I feel like in the past … maybe I wouldn’t do enough.”
He understands there’s a balance between overdoing it and exhausting all the good kicks in warmups, and not warming up enough.
“Some guys work out before games really getting their muscles firing and ready to go. I feel like I could use more of that,” McPherson says. “Not fatigue your muscles before games and practice, but actually getting them woken up. It’s the balance. You have to find out what works best for you.”
McPherson has been doing that both off the field, where he employs a massage therapist and chiropractor to be the stewards of those muscles, and on the field, where he’s looking to bounce back from a season he had his lowest field-goal percentage of 72.7.
But he’s not computing digits when it comes to this season’s goals.
My kicking goals are basically just to improve in certain areas. I feel like I’m always trying to improve in ball striking and ball flight on field goals,” McPherson says. “Being able to control it in various winds. Where we play throughout the year, it tends to get pretty windy. My goals are more centered on things I can work on in my kicking game. Not necessarily numbers. If I improve and I’m where I want to be, I feel like the goals I would set numbers-wise are going to be met.”
On Monday, the Bengals returned to the field for the second phase of voluntary workouts and McPherson found himself battling an unruly spring wind in the Paycor Stadium bowl. Exactly what has been on his offseason to-do list.