NFL Player News

Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Prater (quadriceps) will not practice Friday but stressed that his situation isn't unusual for a kicker, Maddy Glab of the team's official site reports.

Prater practiced in full Thursday, but it appears he'll receive an official questionable designation for Sunday's wild-card game against the Jaguars. McDermott said Buffalo will monitor how the kicker's health holds up during the weekend. After missing back-to-back games, Prater returned to action Week 18 versus the Jets but then was forced off the field early due to an apparent aggravation of his quad injury. If Prater isn't able to play Sunday, Matthew Wright will stand to be elevated from the Bills' practice squad for spot duty.

McManus went 24-for-30 on field-goal attempts and 32-for-33 on extra-point tries over 14 regular-season games with the Packers in 2025.

McManus missed at least one kick between Weeks 2 and 4 before missing the Packers' next two games due to a right quadriceps injury. He proceeded to go 4-for-8 on field-goal attempts over his next three outings before sitting out Week 11 against the Giants after aggravating his quad injury. That extra rest seemed to do the trick, as McManus was perfect in his return, making all 13 of his field-goal attempts and each of his 16 point-after tries over the final seven games of the regular season. McManus will be on the books for the Packers for the next two seasons after signing a three-year, $15.3 million contract in March.

Prater (quadriceps) was a full participant at Thursday's practice.

Prater's full participation Thursday sets him up to kick for the Bills in their wild-card-round trip to Jacksonville on Sunday. He sat out Weeks 16 and 17 due to the injury and didn't finish the game in Week 18. If Prater suffers a setback prior to Sunday's game, Matthew Wright remains on the practice squad as a potential alternative.

Prater (quadriceps) is participating in practice Thursday, Katherine Fitzgerald of The Buffalo News reports.

Prater and practice squad kicker Matthew Wright are both practicing Thursday, though the former's participation level remains to be seen after Prater didn't practice Wednesday. After kicking in Buffalo's first 14 games of the regular season, Prater sat out Weeks 16 and 17 due to a quadriceps injury in his right, kicking leg, and he was unable to complete the Week 18 win over the Jets due to the injury. Either Prater or Wright will kick for the Bills in Sunday's wild-card road game against the Jaguars.

Gonzalez made 19 of 22 field-goal attempts and 17 of 18 point-after tries across nine regular-season games with the Falcons in 2025.

The 30-year-old from Arizona State was picked up by the Falcons in early November and operated as the team's top kicker for the remainder of the season. Gonzalez was reliable and converted on 86.4 percent of his field-goal attempts, with two of his three misses coming from beyond 50 yards. Set to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason, Gonzalez will likely be a candidate to return to Atlanta following a strong finish to the 2025 campaign.

Prater (quadriceps) will not participate in practice Wednesday, Maddy Glab of the Bills' official site reports.

Coach Sean McDermott says that Prater will not practice today but he plans for him to kick tomorrow, where they will have a better idea of his status for Sunday's playoff game against the Jaguars. The Bills recently signed kicker Matthew Wright to the practice squad. If Prater's practice Thursday is insufficient, Wright will likely start Sunday's game.

Carlson made all four of his field-goal attempts and didn't try an extra point in Sunday's 14-12 victory over Kansas City. He finished the 2025-26 campaign having gone 22-of-27 on FG attempts and 21-for-22 on PAT tries.

There were no touchdowns in Sunday's plodding season finale -- both Carlson and KC kicker Harrison Butker made four field goals, and the winning margin came by way of a Las Vegas safety. Carlson was able to show off his leg strength on the game-winning FG from 60 yards out with less than 10 seconds remaining, and he also booted a 55-yarder earlier in the fourth quarter. The Raiders scored the fewest points in the league this season, thus limiting Carlson's opportunities, and his 81 percent success rate on FG tries was his lowest mark since 2019 (and represented the fifth straight season his conversion rate has dropped). Carlson is slated to become an unrestricted free agent, and while he figures to be a starting kicker in the NFL next season, it's not certain that he'll be back with Las Vegas.

Szmyt went 24-for-27 on field-goal attempts and 25-for-26 on extra-point tries across 17 games with the Browns in 2025.

Szmyt did not kick in a regular-season game in two years after joining the league in May of 2023. However, he managed beat out Dustin Hopkins for the Browns' starting kicking job for 2025 after a strong preseason. Szmyt had a shaky NFL debut against the Bengals in Week 1, when he missed a field goal and an extra-point try in a 17-16 loss. He settled down after his debut, and after the Browns' Week 9 bye, he made all 14 of his field-goal attempts (including three makes from 50-plus yards) and all 13 of his point-after tries across nine games. Szmyt enters the offseason as an exclusive rights free agent, meaning he'll likely kick for the Browns in 2026.

McPherson made 25 of his 28 field-goal tries and converted 41 of his 44 extra-point attempts in 17 games with Cincinnati in 2025.

After converting on a career-low 72.7 percent of his field-goal attempts in 2024, McPherson recorded a career high 89.3 percent in that category in 2025. He also showed improvement from distance compared to last season, making 15 of his 18 tries from 40-plus yards out compared to six of 12 in 2024. He still probably hasn't justified the three-year, $14 million contract the Bengals gave him in August of 2024, but he would project as an above-average fantasy option at kicker in 2026 if starting quarterback Joe Burrow can stay healthy and lead a more potent offense than the one Cincinnati had for much of this year.

Folk made 28 of 29 field-goal attempts and all 22 of his extra-point tries over 16 games during the 2025-26 campaign.

The Jets finished with the NFL's fourth-lowest-scoring offense, so opportunities weren't exactly ripe for Folk. However, the veteran kicker was outstanding when called upon, missing just one of his 51 total kicks. Folk made a career-best seven FGs from 50-plus yards out, with his only miss of the season being a 55-yard try in Week 13. He's slated to be a free agent, but it wouldn't be surprising if the Jets try to bring back Folk considering his very strong recent success -- he's led NFL kickers in FG accuracy each of the past three campaigns, going a tremendous 78-for-81 during that span.