John Carney ( American football ) John Michael Carney ( born April 20 , 1964 ) is a former American football placekicker . He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 1987 . He played college football at Notre Dame . Carney has also been a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , San Diego Chargers , New Orleans Saints , Los Angeles Rams , Jacksonville Jaguars , Kansas City Chiefs , and New York Giants . He was a Pro Bowl selection with the Chargers in 1994 and with the Giants in 2008 . When he was released from the Saints ' active roster in December 2009 , Carney was third on the NFL career scoring list with a career total of 2 , 044 points . He was the last remaining player from the 1980s still active in professional football . He has also worked as a kicking consultant for the Saints . Early years . Carney attended Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach , Florida , and was a letterman in football . In football , he won All - State honors as a punter College years . Carney attended Notre Dame and played football there from 1984 to 1986 . He was named to the Notre Dame ' s all time team by " Sports Illustrated " . Professional career . Cincinnati Bengals . After going undrafted in the 1987 NFL Draft , Carney was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent . He was released prior to the regular season and spent the year out of football . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Carney played five games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers between 1988 and 1989 , converting two of five field goal attempts and all six extra point attempts . First stint with Chargers . Carney attended training camp with the San Diego Chargers in 1990 , but did not make the final roster . Los Angeles Rams . Carney played one game for the Los Angeles Rams in 1990 , but did not attempt a field goal or extra point . He was the last remaining active Los Angeles Ram . Second stint with Chargers . Carney was re - signed by the Chargers during the 1990 season , appearing in 12 games for the team and converting 19 of 21 field goal attempts . He played 11 seasons with the Chargers through the 2000 season , earning his first Pro Bowl selection in 1994 after going 34 - for - 38 ( 89 . 5 percent ) on field goal attempts . To this day , he remains the Chargers ' all time leading scorer . First stint with Saints . Carney signed with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent prior to the 2001 season . Carney missed an extra point after a famous play during a game between the New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars that took place on December 21 , 2003 . The Saints were trailing 20 - 13 and were down on their own 25 - yard line with seven seconds left in regulation . The play that then transpired became known as the River City Relay , which gave the Saints a touchdown , and a chance to send the game into overtime . Carney missed the extra point and the Saints lost to the Jaguars 20 – 19 . Even if the Saints had won , however , they would not have made the playoffs as Cowboys won their tenth game ( nine games being the highest the Saints could have won if they won this game ) and the Seahawks would win ten games to claim the wild card . Both wins happened prior to the Carney missed extra point . Carney kicked a game - winning field goal against the Carolina Panthers following Hurricane Katrina . He then graced the cover of " Sports Illustrated " with quarterback Aaron Brooks on September 19 , 2005 as the city celebrated this victory . On April 5 , 2007 , Carney asked and was given permission to leave the Saints after their acquisition of kicker Olindo Mare . Jacksonville Jaguars . Following Week 1 of the 2007 NFL Season , Carney signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars replacing injured placekicker Josh Scobee . Carney appeared in eight games for the Jaguars in Scobee ' s absence , converting nine of 11 field goal attempts and 20 of 21 extra point attempts . He was released on November 19 upon Scobee ' s return . Kansas City Chiefs . On November 26 , 2007 , the " Kansas City Star " reported that the Kansas City Chiefs would sign Carney after holding tryouts to replace Dave Rayner - making Carney the fourth placekicker to play for the Chiefs within a one - year period , following Lawrence Tynes , Justin Medlock and Rayner . Carney appeared in five games for the Chiefs , going 3 - for - 3 on field goal attempts and 7 - for - 7 on extra point attempts . New York Giants . On August 30 , 2008 , Carney signed with the New York Giants to fill in while Tynes recovered from a knee injury sustained in training camp . Although Tynes would eventually recover from his injury Carney continued to hold on to the starting position and Tynes was relegated to kickoff duties . At age 44 , Carney was the oldest active NFL player during the 2008 season . After a near perfect season ( 35 - for - 38 on field goal attempts with two blocked ) , Carney was chosen as the starting kicker for the NFC for the 2009 Pro Bowl . Carney was not re - signed after his contract expired , leaving him a free agent entering the 2009 season . Second and third stints with Saints . Following the announcement that New Orleans Saints placekicker Garrett Hartley would be suspended the first four games of the 2009 season , Carney returned to New Orleans on August 15 on a one - year contract . With his start on November 30 , he became the sixth player in NFL history to reach 300 career games . Carney was waived on December 22 , two weeks after Hartley regained the starting job . On December 24 , 2009 , the Saints announced that Carney had been hired as a " kicking consultant " , with responsibility for the snap and hold as well as working on kicking with his successor , Hartley . The appointment meant that Carney was ineligible to kick for any team for the rest of the 2009 season . Carney remained with the Saints in this capacity through the playoffs , and received credit for his role in preparing the comparatively inexperienced Hartley to make a number of critical kicks that helped the Saints win their first Super Bowl . Carney started the 2010 season without a team . However . after Hartley missed 3 out of 7 field goal attempts during the Saints ' first 3 games , including a short kick in overtime that would have won a game against the Atlanta Falcons , the Saints re - signed Carney ( while also retaining Hartley ) on September 28 , 2010 . The signing made him the oldest active player in the NFL at the age of 46 . On October 3 , 2010 he kicked three field goals in a Saints win against the Carolina Panthers , and became the third oldest player to play in an NFL game ( behind only George Blanda and Morten Andersen ) . On October 12 , the Saints released Carney for the third time . NFL records . Most games with 6 or more field goals in a career : 2 - tied with Gary Anderson , Jeff Wilkins , and Jim Bakken Most games with 6 or more field goals in a season ( 1993 ) : 2 Most games with 5 or more field goals in a career : 11 Most games with 4 or more field goals in a career : 29 Most decades played : 4 ( 1980s , 1990s , 2000s , 2010s ) - tied with George Blanda and Jeff Feagles Personal life . Carney is married to Holly Marie Carney . He has 3 children . He runs a pre - season kicking training camp in San Diego for professional kickers called " The Launching Pad " .