NFL Player News

Slye was waived by the Panthers on Saturday, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.

It was reported only minutes earlier that Slye had officially lost the kicking competition to Ryan Santoso, so it's not a surprise to see the Panthers move on from him shortly after. Slye obviously has one of the strongest legs in the league, but accuracy concerns have been an issue for the Virginia Tech product since he came into the league. The two-year starter's big leg likely will net him another opportunity with a different team, but he'll obviously have to work out the lack of consistency in order to be a reliable fantasy option.

The Panthers may waive Slye before Tuesday's cut deadline, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.

They'd be doing Slye a favor if it's already been determined that Ryan Santoso will be the Week 1 kicker. Slye has one of the strongest right legs in the league, but his accuracy has been inconsistent, and it sounds like he took a step backward this summer. As a result, the Panthers tried out different kickers, with Santoso perhaps locking down the job when he made each of his five kicks in Friday's preseason game against Pittsburgh. Slye's struggles continued in the game, as he missed from 49 yards on his lone field-goal attempt.

Slye missed his only field-goal attempt but made his lone extra-point try in Friday night's 34-9 preseason win over the Steelers.

Slye watched the newly acquired Ryan Santoso make all five of his kicks, including a 52-yarder, while he missed his first attempt from 49 yards. That contrast, along with Slye's well-documented inconsistencies of late, could cost him his job as Carolina's kicker, a role he's held the past two seasons.

Slye could lose ground to Ryan Santoso if his slump continues during Friday's preseason finale against the Steelers, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Slye has missed three kicks so far this preseason, and the Panthers recently acquired Santoso from the Giants via trade. Of course, Carolina only traded a conditional seventh-round pick in exchange for Santoso, and the condition requires him to play two regular-season games, so the team won't be at a loss if Slye wins the starting gig. The Panthers will give Slye another chance to prove himself Friday, but any more mistakes could prove costly.

McLaughlin is the lone kicker in camp after the Browns waived Cody Parkey on Tuesday, Dan Labbe of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

As of Thursday, the Browns had not brought in another leg to challenge McLaughlin, but they aren't committing to him yet. Whether it's head coach Kevin Stefanski or special-teams coach Mike Priefer, the staff utilized "coachspeak" regarding McLaughlin opening the season as the team's kicker. Stefanski said general manager Andrew Berry will discuss the kicking situation following the final preseason game, while Priefer said he doesn't make those decisions. It looks like McLaughlin will handle the kicking chores in Sunday's preseason finale against Atlanta, then the Browns will assess their kicking situation.

The Vikings waived Patterson (undisclosed) with an injury settlement Wednesday.

Patterson recently reverted to IR after going unclaimed on waivers, but now he'll be eligible to sign elsewhere this season once healthy. The undrafted rookie out of Memphis struggled in his senior season, when he converted just 15 of 22 field-goal attempts and made 36 of 37 extra points in 11 games, but his earlier collegiate career was impressive.

Zeurlein (back) was activated from the PUP list Wednesday and should play in Sunday's preseason game against the Jaguars, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

This is the second time Zuerlein has spent an offseason rehabbing from back surgery. He rebounded strong the first time in 2018, converting 87.1 percent of field-goal attempts and 97.2 percent of his point-after tries before missing the final five games of the season with a groin injury. The 33-year-old doesn't quite have the same leg strength at this point in his career, but he still should be a productive fantasy kicker as long as the Cowboys can keep quarterback Dak Prescott on the field.

Panthers GM Scott Fitterer said the Panthers like Slye but will continue to look at other kickers, Alaina Getzenberg of The Charlotte Observer reports.

Slye is the only kicker on the roster, despite making just 79.4 percent of his field-goal attempts through two seasons. He does have a huge leg, but even then, he went just 1-of-6 from 50-plus last year, down from 8-of-11 in 2019. He's now been struggling in the preseason, and the Panthers seem to be getting nervous with their opener less than three weeks away. The team will continue to try out kickers and may actually sign one soon.

The Colts waived Pineiro on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Pineiro was impressive during the preseason, as he didn't miss a single kick, so he could reasonably draw interest from teams around the league. His departure is a clear indication that Rodrigo Blankenship has emerged victorious in the Colts' kicking competition.

Blankenship has won the Colts' kicking job with the team releasing Eddy Pineiro on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Undrafted last year, Blankenship won the job with a strong training camp and converted 32 of 37 field-goal attempts (86.5 percent) in the regular season. However, he had just three attempts from 50-plus yards, missing two, and then missed a field goal in a playoff loss to Buffalo. Blankenship will keep his spot for Week 1, but the month-long job battle with Pineiro this summer suggests Colts brass isn't entirely sold on him.