NFL Player News

Smack is the only kicker left in camp with the Packers, as the team waived Lenny Krieg on Friday.

The Packers evidently feel comfortable handing kicking duties over to Smack. The rookie sixth-round pick impressed in college at Florida but will need to prove he's capable of handling the pressure of kicking in the NFL, as well as the cold and windy conditions that arise at Lambeau Field.

Shrader went 5-for-6 on field-goal attempts at Friday's training camp practice while Blake Grupe made all six of his attempts, Abby Halpin of the Colts' official site reports.

Shrader has recovered from a torn ACL that he suffered in Week 5 of the 2025 season. He was the Colts' starting kicker prior to that point but will need to earn that role back by beating out Grupe in a training-camp competition. "I think it'll be a really good competition," special-teams coordinator Brian Mason said Thursday. "We're going to try to get those guys the exact same number of kicks as similar as we possibly can."

Grupe made all six of his field-goal attempts Friday while Spencer Shrader went 5-for-6, Abby Halpin of the Colts' official site reports.

Grupe and Shrader are battling it out in a training camp competition to determine the Colts' kicker for the upcoming season. "I think it'll be a really good competition," special-teams coordinator Brian Mason said Thursday. "We're going to try to get those guys the exact same number of kicks as similar as we possibly can." Grupe had the slight edge Friday with his perfect performance.

Gay worked as the first-team kicker at Friday's training camp practice and made all of his attempts, Sam Warren of the Athletic reports.

Gay rotated in ahead of Kansei Matsuzawa, the latter of whom had a 40-yard miss in Friday's practice but made the rest of his attempts. With 102 games of regular-season kicking experience under his belt, Gay looks like the early favorite in the competition against the undrafted rookie Matsuzawa.

Bass noted Thursday that he's fully healthy after recovering from a pelvic injury that cost him the entire 2025 season, Matt Parrino of Syracuse.com reports.

Bass acknowledged that the injury entailed a difficult recovery, noting "it was hard to get out of bed for a couple weeks," while adding "when I started kicking, we started with baby steps - 20-yarders, 10-yarders, and then working from there. It wasn't until midway through OTAs where I started feeling like myself again." Now that the 29-year-old is back on the field, he's positioned to reclaim his role as the Bills' top kicker while working behind the team's Josh Allen-led offense, a context that puts Bass back on the fantasy radar, provided he remains healthy.

York (groin) went 6-for-6 on field-goal attempts at Thursday's practice, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports.

York had been sidelined by a groin injury but has recovered and connected on kicks of 34, 36, 39, 42, 45 and 48 yards Thursday. The Jets' kicker competition between York and Jason Sanders is a long way from being settled, but Thursday's practice marked a point in York's corner, as Sanders missed his 48-yard attempt.

Smack is not set to compete with new kicker Lenny Krieg after winning the battle against freshly cut competitor Lucas Havrisik.

Krieg was likely signed to keep Smack sharp and to have an emergency option if the sixth-round rookie suffers an injury. Packers kicking options in 2025 produced 123 points over 17 regular-season games, with six total 50-plus yard attempts logged during the season. As the favorite for the starting job, Smack is set to inherit all the value associated with the Packers' offensive opportunities in 2026.

The Packers are waiving Havrisik on Tuesday, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Havrisik will be let go to make room for new kicker Lenny Krieg on the 90-man roster. Last year, Havrisik converted all four of his field-goal attempts and seven of nine extra-point tries across three regular-season games with Green Bay, and he also spent time on the team's practice squad. Kreig will provide competition for rookie sixth-round pick Trey Smack in training camp.

The expectation is that Havrisik will compete with Trey Smack throughout the preseason to determine a Week 1 starter, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.

Smack , a sixth-round rookie, was set to be the opening-day kicker, but offseason practice failures have created a window for Havrisik to shine. The kicker produced well for the Packers in 2025 when he filled in for Brandon McManus, converting all four of his field-goal attempts. Havrisik also displayed some weaknesses around extra-point tries, converting only seven of nine across his three games.

Gay is set to compete with Kansei Matsuzawa for the Raiders' kicking role in training camp, Ryan McFadden of ESPN.com reports.

The Raiders moved on from Daniel Carlson after the 2025 season and subsequently brought in the veteran Gay and the rookie Matsuzawa. Gay converted 81 of 101 field-goal attempts over the previous three seasons, split between the Colts, 49ers and Commanders. Matsuzawa is coming off a stellar season at Hawaii, where he made 27 of 29 field-goal attempts in 2025.