NFL Player News

Gano (leg) is not expected to suit up during Thursday's preseason finale against the Steelers, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Gano has been managing leg soreness all preseason. The veteran is prioritizing a return to full health by the regular-season opener, and isn't likely to rush himself into action for Carolina's final preseason tilt. Gano's starting job still seems secure, though Joey Slye is waiting in the wings.

Joseph made three of five field-goal attempts during Tuesday's practice session, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Joseph missed from 43 and 48 yards, adding more misses to a camp full of them. The pressure is on Joseph this week after Austin Seibert, who executed all the kicks last week, connected on all four attempts in a loss to the Buccaneers. Head coach Freddie Kitchens is expected to grant Joseph all the kicking opportunities Thursday against the Lions, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The coach was quick to point out that the competition for the placekicking job is not over.

Walsh succeeded on five of nine field-goal tries during his kicking session at Falcons' practice Tuesday, D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Head coach Dan Quinn was adamant that looking too closely at practice stats is a "dangerous subject," but did concede that Walsh's performance took a dip between Monday and Tuesday. Quinn stressed that in-game results are a far stronger indicator of ability, and the coaching staff will have to make a decision on the starting kicker based on that. Giorgio Tavecchio has floundered with four missed field goals on eight opportunities thus far in the preseason slate, while Walsh enters Thursday's tilt with Jacksonville having posted a 79.9 percent conversion rate over his past five NFL seasons, after hitting 92.1 percent as a rookie.

Coach Ron Rivera relayed that Carolina is still evaluating whether Gano will kick in Thursday's preseason game against the Steelers, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

The team would certainly like to see Gano kick in a game before the regular season, as he's been dealing with leg soreness lately. His starting job still seems secure at this point, though.

Pineiro was perfect on two field-goal attempts in the Bears' 27-17 win over the Colts on Saturday.

The highlight of Pineiro's evening was when he connected on a 58-yard field goal -- the kick was not only right down the middle, but it had a little distance to spare. As the kicker on an offense that could be ready to erupt, he's looking like a solid fantasy option after the top kickers are off the board.

Walsh signed a contract with the Falcons on Saturday, Will McFadden of the team's official site reports.

Walsh last saw an NFL field with the Seahawks in 2017, where he made 21 of 29 field goal attempts (72 percent). Before that, the 29-year-old spent five seasons with the Vikings, where he converted 84.2 percent of his field-goal attempts and 94.5 percent of his tries on extra points. Walsh will be joined by Giorgio Tavecchio in Atlanta.

Santos drilled a 23-yard field goal, his only kick attempt, in the Buccaneers' 13-12 preseason win over the Browns on Friday.

Santos was solely limited to a 23-yard field-goal try for the second straight exhibition, and as he did versus the Dolphins in the second preseason game, he was successful on the kick. The veteran did see Matt Gay make a game-winning attempt for the second consecutive week as well, and the rookie appears to have a slight edge in their heated job battle based on the opportunities he's been afforded. Santos will presumably have one more chance to make his case in Thursday's exhibition finale against the Cowboys, a game in which he'll likely take the first 40-yard-plus attempt, which he was slated to do Friday had a try of that distance materialized.

Gay missed a 37-yard field-goal attempt but drilled a game-winning 21-yard try in the Buccaneers' 13-12 preseason win over the Browns on Friday. He also made his only extra-point attempt.

The rookie got his first taste of in-game adversity at the NFL level when his 37-yard attempt at the end of an 11-play, 59-yard drive in the first quarter bounced off the right upright. However, Gay atoned for the hiccup by converting his short but clutch game-winning attempt with 15 seconds remaining. While veteran Cairo Santos once again was true on his sole attempt (23 yards) Friday, coach Bruce Arians has now afforded Gay both game-ending kicking scenarios this preseason, a telling sign he's giving the rookie every chance to make his case for the job. The heated competition appears headed for a photo finish in Thursday's exhibition finale versus the Cowboys.

Prater converted both of his field-goal attempts and his only PAT during Friday's preseason loss to the Bills.

Prater boomed a 61-yard kick with time expiring in the second quarter, a kick from a length that hasn't been seen in preseason history since 1999. Few kickers around the league have the trust to take attempts from such a distance.

Tavecchio made his only point-after try but missed a 39-yard field goal attempt during Thursday's 19-7 preseason loss to Washington.

Tavecchio was impressive in limited work during 2018, knocking down all five of his field-goal tries and going 8-for-8 on extra points over three games. He's 4-for-8 on field goal tries through four preseason outings, however, and with little proven NFL success outside of last year -- a 76.2 percent field-goal conversion rate in 2017 during his only other active season -- the $2.8 million of salary cap space that was salvaged in cutting Matt Bryant doesn't seem quite as alluring as it did in February.