Jacksonville Jaguars Put 'Year of Long Ding' on Hold

Chinese kicker Long Ding sought to be the first of his countrymen to gain employment on an NFL roster. After securing a tryout with the Jaguars rookie minicamp, and hanging around in the camp for the last couple of weeks, it appeared Ding was close to achieving that goal. But the Jags' taste in imports appears to have gone sour.

Earlier this week, Jacksonville signed kicker Brandon Coutu. The Jags' regular kicker, Josh Scobee, was slapped with the franchise tag this offseason and has no current plans to sign his tender. The Coutu signing essentially slams the door on Ding, at least for now.

Coutu has attempted all of one field goal in his NFL career, but that's not the only gem that his bio offers. Drafted by the Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2008 draft, he was cut the following year. And then he fell off the map, appearing briefly on the rosters of the Seahawks (again), Jaguars and the Las Vegas Locomotives of the UFL two years later.

In Week 17 last year, Coutu, dressed for the Buffalo Bills and missed a 45-yarder to end the first half of what would be a blowout loss to New England.     

Long Ding may or may not have beaten out Coutu, but the point is almost moot with the impending return of the Jacksonville's incumbent kicker in Scobee. Maybe we'll see Ding in action on an NFL field someday. But for now, we'll just have to settle for the $400 billion dollars in other Chinese goods imported into America each year.

I think we'll manage.