NFL Player News

Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said Friday that Zuerlein (knee) will kick in Sunday's game against the Bills, Eric Allen of the Jets' official site reports.

Zuerlein's return still needs to be made official with an activation from injured reserve prior to Sunday's game. The veteran kicker has been on IR since Week 8. He tried to play through a knee injury prior to that point, but it had a significant effect on his performance, as Zuerlein has missed six of 15 field-goal attempts in 2024 after missing only three times on 38 attempts in 2023.

The Titans are expected to promote Wright from the practice squad ahead of Sunday's game against the Jaguars, Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com reports.

With Nick Folk (abdomen) still injured, Wright is expected to get the Week 17 nod at kicker after Brayden Narveson was cut Monday following an uneven Week 16 showing versus Indianapolis, where he went two for two on his extra points but missed his lone field-goal attempt. Wright will kick for his third team already this season after he went a combined 11-for-12 on field-goal attempts and 5-for-5 on extra-point tries in three combined games for the 49ers and Chiefs.

Folk (abdomen) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Jaguars, Turron Davenport of ESPN.com reports.

Folk will miss a second consecutive game. The Titans plan to add Matthew Wright from their practice squad to fill in for Folk after Brayden Narveson missed his only field-goal attempt while kicking in Folk's place against the Colts in Week 16. Folk's last chance to suit up this season will come against the Texans in Week 18.

Myers connected on both field-goal tries in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Bears.

Myers hit field goals from 27 and 50 yards to put together a perfect day in this low-scoring affair. The veteran kicker has hit 25 of 29 field-goal attempts (86 percent), including eight of 11 from 50 yards and beyond (72 percent). Myers will enjoy a dome atmosphere in the Week 18 matchup versus the Rams.

Fairbairn did not attempt a field goal or extra point in Wednesday's 31-2 loss to the Ravens in Week 17.

Houston eschewed field-goal attempts on its two red-zone opportunities and never had a need for Fairbairn beyond his one kickoff to open the game.

The Jets opened Zuerlein's (knee) 21-day practice window Thursday, per the NFL's transaction log.

Zuerlein landed on IR in late October due to a left knee injury. Since then, New York has deployed a merry-go-round of kickers, including Riley Patterson, Spencer Shrader (hamstring) and Anders Carlson. The Jets also signed veteran Greg Joseph to their practice squad Tuesday, and for the moment it's unclear which of Carlson, Zuerlein or Joseph will be the team's kicker Sunday in Buffalo.

Ryland will remain Arizona's kicker for Saturday's game against the Rams with the Cardinals ruling Matt Prater (knee) out for the contest.

Prater took part in practices for the second week in a row after having his 21-day evaluation window opened Dec. 18, but since the 40-year-old has yet to upgrade to full participation, the Cardinals are opting to keep him on injured reserve for at least one more game. His continued absence sets the stage for Ryland to once again handle kicking duties for Arizona. Ryland is coming off a 12-point performance in the Week 16 loss to the Panthers that was highlighted by a game-tying 58-yard field goal that sent the game to overtime.

Prater (knee) has been ruled out for Saturday's game at the Rams, Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic reports.

Since the Cardinals designated him for return from injured reserve last Wednesday, Dec. 18, Prater has been listed as limited on all six of the Cardinals' practice reports. On both occasions, he didn't progress enough to be given a chance to play Weeks 16 or 17, giving him only one more opportunity to kick again this season Week 18 against the 49ers. Chad Ryland will continue to serve as Arizona's placekicker this weekend.

Folk (abdomen) didn't practice Thursday, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Folk's abdominal injury prevented him from playing in the Titans' 38-30 loss to the Colts in Week 16 and has now kept him sidelined for the team's first two Week 17 practices. According to Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com, the Titans remain hopeful that Folk will be able to handle kicking duties in this Sunday's game in Jacksonville, but Tennessee added some insurance by signing Matthew Wright to their practice squad Thursday. Wright would presumably be elevated to the roster Saturday if Folk is in any danger of missing a second straight game.

Butker converted on his lone field-goal attempt and went 2-for-3 on his extra-point tries during the Chiefs' 29-10 win over the Steelers on Wednesday.

Butker missed his first extra-point attempt of the game early in the first quarter, but it was a more difficult kick due to Xavier Worthy picking up a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after catching a seven-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes. Butker had no problem connecting on his next two extra-point tries and nailed a 32-yard field goal early in the third quarter to give the Chiefs a nine-point lead. In the three games since returning from injured reserve, Butker has gone 3-for-4 on field-goal attempts and 8-for-9 on extra-point tries. Butker will likely have less scoring opportunities in Week 18 against the Broncos as the Chiefs figure to rest their starters after securing the No. 1 seed in the AFC with their win on Christmas Day.