NFL Player News

Elliott made all three of his field-goal tries in Thursday's 24-16 preseason loss to the Steelers.

Elliott made more kicks of over 45 yards in this one than he did all of last season. After struggling last year in a dysfunctional offense that resulted in career-low opportunities as well as percentage of field goals made, he has rebounded with a nice camp so far, according to Dave Spadaro of the Eagles' official site. The 26-year-old continued to build on that Thursday.

Zuerlein (back) said Friday he expects to be "100 percent on all cylinders" for Week 1 of the regular season at Tampa Bay, The Dallas Morning News reports.

Zuerlein increased his workload this week, with individual kicking drills away from the field translating to kicks at Wednesday's practice. He then had a "smooth" workout prior to Friday's preseason game in Arizona. Offseason back surgery delayed Zuerlein's introduction to training camp, but the lack of another full-time kicker on the roster implies the Cowboys' commitment to the 10th-year pro.

Boswell converted on his lone extra-point try in Thursday's 24-16 preseason win over the Eagles.

Boswell didn't see the field in last week's Hall of Fame Game against the Cowboys, while Samuel Sloman converted on one of his two field-goal attempts during the contest. The 30-year-old took the field for an extra-point try in the first half Thursday, but Sloman saw work in the second half and made his lone field-goal attempt while also drilling a pair of extra-point tries. The two should continue to compete for kicking duties during the preseason, but Boswell has six years of experience in the league and made 19 of his 20 field-goal attempts last year.

Zuerlein (back) attempted kicks at Wednesday's practice, David Moore of The Dallas Morning News reports

This marks Zuerlein's first on-field work of training camp as he continues to put offseason back surgery further in the rear-view mirror. Special teams coordinator John Fassel told Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday that Zuerlein will need "about three or four weeks" to return to normal, giving him a great shot to be available for the Cowboys' season opener Sept. 9 at Tampa Bay. In the meantime, Dallas will entrust placekicking to punter Hunter Niswander during the exhibition slate.

Folk (undisclosed) missed Tuesday's practice, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

It remains to be seen how long the veteran kicker will be sidelined, but if his absence lingers, UDFA signee Quinn Nordin -- who looked sharp at Tuesday's practice -- could potentially make a case to supplant Folk (who we'll consider day-to-day) in advance of Week 1.

McPherson has been fantastic at camp so far, making nearly every kick, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

Given that the Bengals used a fifth-round pick to acquire McPherson, he was going to win most tiebreakers over Austin Seibert for the job, and his performance will only aid him in that effort.

Wright was waived by the Lions on Tuesday.

Wright inked a reserve/future contract with the Lions in January but will be let go after opening camp with the team. Zane Gonzalez was signed in a corresponding move to compete with Randy Bullock.

Special teams coordinator John Fassel said Tuesday that Zuerlein (back) has begun kicking individually as he aims to "be 100 percent" for Week 1 at Tampa Bay, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Fassel is of the belief Zuerlein will require "about three or four weeks" to get back to normal, which conveniently lands between the end of the preseason and start of the regular season. The veteran is easing into kicking after undergoing offseason surgery on his back, which is the latest in a history of such injuries. The Cowboys are confident in Zuerlein being available Week 1, considering they haven't rostered another kicker during training camp and instead have rolled out punter Hunter Niswander to handle placekicking.

Gonzalez has signed with the Lions.

In a corresponding move, the team waived Matthew Wright. Gonzalez is now in line to compete with Randy Bullock for the placekicking job, with the Lions in need of a replacement for Matt Prater after he signed with Arizona this offseason -- which is where Gonzalez kicked last year.

Maher is signing a contract with New Orleans on Monday, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com reports.

Maher will fill in for Will Lutz (abdomen) for the time being, though the Saints will probably also bring in additional kicking help. Lutz is set for core muscle surgery that could carry an 8-to-12-week recovery timetable, in which case New Orleans would need a replacement for a handful of regular-season games. Maher appeared in 29 games with the Cowboys from 2018-19.