NFL Player News

The Lions signed Gonzalez to the practice squad Wednesday.

Gonzalez couldn't stick on Detroit's initial 53-man roster, but he will enter the regular season as an emergency option behind Austin Seibert. Through 12 games with the Cardinals in 2020, Gonzalez converted 16 of 22 field-goal attempts and 38 of 39 extra-point attempts.

McPherson was named the Bengals' starting kicker Tuesday, Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The Bengals selected McPherson in the fifth round of April's draft, so he entered training camp with an edge on incumbent Austin Seibert, who was released Tuesday. McPherson solidified his starting role with a perfect preseason, as he drilled all five of his field-goal attempts, including a 57-yarder in the preseason finale. The Bengals' offense has high upside depending on quarterback Joe Burrow's health, so it's worth monitoring McPherson as a fantasy contributor.

The Patriots cut Folk on Tuesday, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

As expected, Folk has been released after losing the kicking competition to Quinn Nordin. The veteran was solid in 2020, connecting on 26 of 28 field-goal attempts and 30 of 33 extra-point tries. He will likely draw interest from teams around the league in search of kicking help.

The Lions released Gonzalez on Tuesday.

Fellow kicker Randy Bullock also was cut loose, leaving Detroit without a kicker for the time being. The team now will look into the free-agent market for a new placekicker.

Tucker will retain the starting job after the Ravens waived Jake Verity on Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Tucker's job was all but guaranteed, as he remains one of the best kickers in the NFL. The 31-year-old has missed just two field-goals inside of 50 yards in the past two seasons and has made more than 89 percent of his field goals in five consecutive seasons. The veteran kicker has appeared in all 16 regular-season games during all nine of his years in the NFL.

Badgley will be cut by the Chargers on Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Badgley converted only 73 percent of his field-goal attempts last season and lost his job to Tristan Vizcaino this summer. Vizcaino could even be useful for fantasy purposes this season if the Chargers offense becomes a top-10 unit under Justin Herbert.

The Patriots will roll with rookie Quinn Nordin as the starting placekicker for 2021, rather than Folk, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

As a result of losing New England's kicking competition, Folk will likely soon find himself without a roster spot. Through 16 appearances in 2020, the veteran converted 26 of his 28 field-goal attempts and made 30 of his 33 extra-point tries.

McLaughlin was successful on two of three field-goal attempts and one of two extra-point kicks in Sunday's 19-10 win over Atlanta in preseason Week 3.

McLaughlin is the last kicker standing for the Browns, but he's not a lock to open the regular season two weeks from now. His lone field-goal miss was a 56-yard attempt at the end of the first half -- it hit the crossbar. He showed a good leg all camp, particularly on kickoffs leading to touchbacks, but the Browns are expected to review available placekickers between now and Week 1.

Fairbairn was held out of Saturday's preseason game against the Buccaneers after tweaking a leg muscle pregame, but the injury isn't expected to affect his availability for Week 1 versus the Jaguars, Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Coach David Culley said Fairbairn would have been able to play were it the regular season, so the kicker's absence appears to have been a precautionary measure. There's not much concern over the issue, and the 27-year-old will have a couple weeks to get back to full health before the Sept. 12 matchup with Jacksonville.

Fairbairn was held out of Saturday's preseason game against the Buccaneers due to a minor injury, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com reports.

Fairbairn's absence is merely a precautionary measure, and likely one to ensure he's as healthy as possible for the regular season. The Texans next take the field Sunday, Sept. 12 against the Jaguars.