Bironas was money on the field. Only David Akers made more field goals (247) between 2005 and 2013 than Bironas. For kickers with 100 or more field goals since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, Bironas ranked third making 75.2 percent of his kicks from 40 yards or longer (94 of 125).

Kern said he'll be thinking about Bironas this weekend when he takes the field against the Browns. He said he flashes back to days with Bironas often.

"There's always little things that just kind of come up and you're like, that's something Rob would do. Or that's something Rob would say,'' Kern said. "Rob always had a way of just having fun on Sundays and keeping you relaxed and cracking jokes. He would always take your mind off a bad punt or kick, he'd crack a joke about it and move on to the next one. That's probably what made him so good."

Brinkley admitted he thinks of Bironas every time he walks into Nissan Stadium because of the influence he had on his life.

"I wasn't very good my rookie year, my short snaps were terrible,'' Brinkley said. "Rob could have told the coaches and said, "Get this guy out of here, he's terrible." But he stuck with me and I am forever grateful for that. He was a great friend."

In death, Bironas provided a painful reminder to everyone, Griffin said.

"When something like that happens, you realize it's just a blessing to be on this earth,'' Griffin said. "You realize life is short and you can't take anything for granted in this world. The only thing that's guaranteed in life is death. What happened to Rob, it's still hard to believe it really happened.

"But it is one of those situations where you try and value every single day and try and do the best you can."