NFL Player News

Maher was a perfect 6-for-6 on field-goal attempts during Tuesday's practice, Alaina Getzenberg of The Dallas Morning News reports.

He had some shaky days earlier in training camp and in the preseason, including a miss on a 52-yard attempt Saturday against the Rams, but Maher seems to be pointed in the right direction as the regular season draws closer. Unless the Cowboys bring in some late competition for him, his job appears to be safe.

Santos, who's seen rookie Matt Gay take the first two 40-yard-plus field-goal attempts of preseason, will get the first long attempt in Friday's preseason game against the Browns, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Santos is in a curious position this preseason, as he's done nothing to lose his inherent advantage as the incumbent kicker yet is nevertheless perceived to now be the underdog to rookie Matt Gay. The veteran is still considered to be a legitimate contender for the kicking job in the eyes of coach Bruce Arians, but Santos likely has a particularly small margin for error at this point thanks to Gay's impressive head start.

Coach Freddie Kitchens dismissed the idea of bringing in a new kicker Monday despite Joseph and Austin Seibert both struggling in training camp, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Joseph missed two field-goal attempts during Monday's practice and has missed a kick in both of Cleveland's preseason games. The second-year pro, who went undrafted out of Florida Atlantic in 2018, converted 17 of 20 field-goal tries and 24 of 28 extra-point attempts across 14 games with the Browns last year. He's competing for the starting job with Seibert, a rookie fifth-round pick.

Coach Ron Rivera said Gano won't kick this week, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Rivera committed to Gano as the Panthers' starting kicker last week after he returned from leg soreness, and he'll now take a break heading into Week 3 of the preseason. The 32-year-old also missed the final four games of 2018 with a knee injury, so it's not a major surprise to see the Panthers giving him a light workload in August. Joey Slye will take over kicking duties this week, including Thursday's preseason game at New England.

With Elliott Fry having been let go, Pineiro is now the Bears' only placekicker, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Coach Matt Nagy relayed Sunday that the Bears want to give Pineiro added opportunities to make kicks in practices and games as Week 1 approaches. "The next two games will be great for him to get out there and get some reps," Nagy noted. With Sunday's development, Pineiro now has a great opportunity to seize the team's kicking job, but there's still a chance the Bears could make a move down the road, especially if Pineiro struggles at all in the coming days/weeks.

Fairbairn successfully converted all three field-goal attempts in Saturday's preseason Week 2 win over the Lions.

Fairbairn booted three-pointers from 50, 27 and 39 yards. He's a perfect 5-for-5 over the first two preseason games and leads all kickers with 20 preseason points. Fairbairn led the NFL in kicker scoring in 2018, fueled by a league-high 42 field-goal attempts (37 FGM).

Santos made his sole field-goal attempt, a 23-yarder, in the Buccaneers' 16-14 preseason win over the Dolphins on Friday. He did not attempt an extra point.

To his credit, Santos nailed his chip-shot try, and he's enjoyed a solid summer all the way around. However, to the veteran's chagrin, rookie Matt Gay has been every bit as good, arguably has a stronger leg, and nailed a 48-yard attempt to win the game Friday. Santos is increasingly looking like a potential tough-luck loser of the heated job battle, but he should get at least one more opportunity to make his case in next Friday's exhibition against the Browns.

Gay drilled field-goal attempts of 32 and 48 yards as well as his lone extra-point attempt in the Buccaneers' 16-14 preseason win over the Dolphins on Friday.

The rookie appears to be well on his way to usurping incumbent Cairo Santos for the placekicking job, with Friday's 48-yard game-winning boot potentially having cemented his case. Gay has been every bit as good as advertised in both practices and through a pair of exhibitions, and while Santos has also been solid, the fact Gay will be cheaper and also cost the Bucs some draft capital could finish tipping the scales in his favor.

Tavecchio converted on his lone point-after try, but missed two of his three field-goal attempts during Thursday's 22-10 loss to the Jets.

Tavecchio's first attempt came on the Falcons' opening offensive drive, a 52-yard try that faded right after New York's Henry Anderson deflected the ball at the line. The 27-year-old Tavecchio converted on his next attempt of 24 yards, but missed another 52-yarder later in the contest. The post-Matt Bryant Era is off to a shaky start, with Tavecchio going 4-for-7 on field-goal tries to this point in the preseason.

Coach Ron Rivera said Monday that Gano will start for the Panthers while healthy, Steve Reed of the Associated Press reports.

Gano sat out last week's preseason contest against the Bears due to leg soreness, but he returned to practice Sunday and appears to be fully healthy. The veteran kicker is on track for Friday's tilt against the Bills.