NFL Player News

Gano (leg) was spotted kicking at Sunday's practice, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Gano didn't play in Thursday's preseason game against the Bears due to leg soreness, but he managed to return to kicking Sunday. He should be ready to roll for Friday's matchup with Buffalo.

Boswell hit both his field-goal attempts (33, 47) and his lone PAT in the Steelers' 30-28 preseason win over the Buccaneers on Friday.

Just as head coach Mike Tomlin has stated, Boswell alternated kicking opportunities with Matthew Wright in a competition that is expected to last all of preseason. One missed kick could be the difference, as could their performance on kickoffs. Pittsburgh was 20th in the league in touchback percentage last season and Boswell failed to record a touchback in three tries against Tampa Bay.

Gay made his one field-goal attempt, a 55-yarder, in the Buccaneers' 30-28 preseason loss to the Steelers on Friday.

Gay's one kicking opportunity Friday allowed him to flash the one aspect of his skill set that likely most endeared him to the Buccaneers, namely, his accuracy on long-distance kicks. The rookie has been impressive overall from various distances in training camp, but his ability to nail an attempt of that length in a game situation had to be particularly gratifying. Veteran Cairo Santos has also been solid and made his one kick attempt, an extra-point try, Friday, so the heated competition will carry over into next Friday's exhibition versus the Dolphins.

Pineiro converted one of two field-goal attempts in the Bears' 23-13 preseason loss to the Panthers on Thursday.

Pineiro's first attempt came from 48 yards, and although it had plenty of leg, it hooked wide to the left. Later in the game, he took advantage of his second opportunity by knocking down a 23-yard chip shot. Meanwhile, his teammate Elliott Fry connected on the same kick that Cody Parkey missed in the 2018 playoffs- from 43 yards away, toward the north goalpost, and after a timeout. For now, Fry has the edge in this competition, but it's likely that it'll go on for the next couple weeks. Whoever prevails could emerge as a strong fantasy option because the Bears project for a strong offensive campaign in the coming season.

Gano didn't travel with the team for Friday's game against Buffalo due to leg soreness, David Newton of ESPN.com reports.

The Panthers appear to be exercising caution with their starting kicker, as there's no reason to press the veteran into duty for Week 1 of the preseason. Joey Slye figures to handle the kicking duties in Gano's place Friday night.

Maher has been perfect on his field-goal attempts only once in 10 days of training camp so far, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Misses from 33 and 32 yards have raised some eyebrows, but as yet the Cowboys haven't indicated there's any kind of competition for the kicker spot between Maher and newcomer Kasey Redfern. "Just want to give [Maher] opportunities, both in practice and preseason games, to continue to grow," head coach Jason Garrett said. "He did a really good job for us last year in games, made a lot big kicks for us. So we'll continue with his growth and development." Of course, the team didn't publicly indicate there was a competition last year between Dan Bailey and Maher until the day they cut Bailey, but unlike last year, Redfern isn't putting much pressure on the incumbent with his own performance. For now the job belongs to Maher, but if he continues to struggle, the front office may start looking for other options.

Boswell will split snaps evenly with rookie Matthew Wright during Friday's preseason contest against the Buccaneers, Chris Adamski of triblive.com reports.

Coach Mike Tomlin said the team's intention is to switch players "every other kick, regardless of circumstances." Boswell, who was named to the Pro Bowl in 2017, appears to be facing legitimate competition for the starting role following a poor 2018 campaign in which he converted only 13 of 20 field-goal attempts. Pittsburgh's kicker competition will be worth monitoring throughout the preseason.

Tavecchio converted one of his two field-goal attempts and succeeded on his lone point-after try during Thursday's 14-10 preseason loss to the Broncos.

The Falcons' offense managed only one yard over its first three drives, but it finally was able to string together some first downs and get into scoring range early in the second quarter. On his first attempt of his second campaign with the Falcons, Tavecchio came up short on a 54-yard try, but was able to rebound in the second half by making a 27-yard kick that provided Atlanta with a temporary three-point lead. So long as he doesn't completely go off the rails this preseason, Tavecchio is comfortably in the driver's seat to be the starting kicker, considering Matt Bryant is a free agent, and there's currently no other kicker on the roster.

Head coach Dan Quinn said that Tavecchio will take over for Matt Bosher as the team's kickoff specialist, D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Despite his heroic Week 16 tackle against now-teammate Kenjon Barner, Bosher does not retain the kickoff duties, as the 29-year-old Tavecchio will now inherit the role. Tavecchio has demonstrated a strong leg in two seasons as a placekicker, knocking down 10 of his 13 career kicks from 40 or more yards out, and five of six attempts from 50-plus yards. Based on that ability to kick it deep, Quinn has nominated him as the man for the job three days out from the preseason opener.

Gay was 10-for-10 on field goals during his first featured camp practice Saturday, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports.

Smith reports the rookie fifth-round pick absolutely drilled his longest attempt, a 57-yard laser that would have been good from an even greater distance. The pressure, by training camp standards, was on Gay during his first chance in the summer spotlight, as veteran incumbent Cairo Santos had put together an 8-for-9 effort Friday and would go on to post a perfect showing Sunday. The long-distance success is nothing new for Gay, who finished his college career at Utah with an 8-for-11 tally on kicks from 50 yards and beyond. The competition between Santos and Gay looks primed to go down to the wire this coming preseason if the caliber of their respective early performances sustains.