NFL Player News

Patterson signed a one-year deal with the Lions on Tuesday, Howard Balzer of SI.com reports.

Patterson was an exclusive rights free agent, who spent time with the Vikings and Patriots before finding a home with the Lions in his rookie season. The 22-year-old served as Detroit's kicker for seven games, making 13 of 14 field goal attempts and all 16 of his extra-point attempts. With Austin Seibert (hip) and Aldrick Rosas still on the Lions' roster, Patterson will still have to earn the starting job next season.

Gay signed his restricted free agent tender with the Rams on Thursday, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Gay received an original-round tender from the Rams, and he'll enter his third campaign with the team in 2022. He's been excellent across the last two seasons, combining to hit 46 of his 50 field-goal attempts and 64 of his 65 extra-point attempts.

Slye signed a two-year contract with the Commanders on Monday.

The full terms of Slye's deal have yet to be disclosed, though Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes the deal is worth nearly $5 million. Though he appeared in just six games with Washington last season, Slye impressed enough to earn a two-year commitment from the team. In those six contests, he converted all 12 of his field-goal attempts and nine of 10 extra-point tries.

Joseph signed his one-year contract tender with Minnesota on Monday, his agent Brett Tessler reports.

Joseph was solid in 2021, when he converted a career-high 87 percent of his field-goal attempts across 17 games with the Vikings. The 27-year-old currently is the only kicker on Minnesota's roster, and he can be considered the clear favorite to begin the 2022 season as the starter, though another option realistically could be added at the position when offseason workouts ramp up.

Cleveland re-signed McLaughlin on Tuesday.

McLaughlin wasn't initially tendered a contract for the 2022 season, but the Browns have now re-signed him as a free agent. He served as the team's starting kicker in 2021, when he made his first nine field-goal-attempts of the year but then went 6-for-12 down the stretch.

Pineiro signed a one-year deal worth up to $2.75 million with the Jets on Monday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Pineiro, who was a restricted free agent, was tendered by the Jets earlier in March and will return to the team in 2022 after converting all 17 of his kicks in 2021. He'll presumably compete with Greg Zuerlein, who the Jets recently signed, for the starting gig during training camp.

Zuerlein signed a contract with the Jets on Saturday.

Zuerlein knocked home 29 of his 35 field-goal attempts for the Cowboys last season, but Dallas elected to release the veteran earlier this month. Zuerlein may not have a completely clear path to the kicking job after Eddy Pineiro connected on all 17 of his kicks over his five games for the Jets last year, but the former should have a decent shot.

McLaughlin became an unrestricted free agent Wednesday after the Browns elected not to tender him a contract for 2022, Brandon Little of SI.com reports.

McLaughlin served as Cleveland's kicker during the 2021 campaign and made his first nine field-goal attempts of the season, but he went 6-for-12 on field goals down the stretch, with all six misses coming between 40 and 49 yards. The 25-year-old has already kicked for six NFL teams since going undrafted out of Illinois in 2019.

Syle received a one-year, $2.4 million tender from the Commanders on Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Slye appeared in six games for Washington last year and converted all 12 of his field-goal attempts while making nine of 10 extra-point tries. After spending time with three teams in 2021, the 25-year-old is the leading candidate to serve as the Commanders' kicker heading into 2022. He'll still face competition from Brian Johnson, whom Washington tendered earlier this week.

Pineiro, a restricted free agent, received a $2.43 million contract tender from the Jets on Wednesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Pineiro played well down the stretch for New York in 2021, converting all eight of his field-goal tries and all nine of his extra-point attempts. Granted, that sample size came in just five contests, but Pineiro's accuracy left the team with little need to explore an alternative answer at placekicker. While Matt Ammendola is also sticking with the Jets via a reserve/future contract, Pineiro appears to be the favorite to open the 2022 season as the team's kicker.