NFL Player News

Hocker has been cut by the Bengals.

Hocker returned from an ankle injury Sunday in Jacksonville and hit one extra point point in the process, but ultimately he was unable to unseat Mike Nugent as the Bengals' kicker in advance of Week 1.

Tucker converted both of his field-goal attempts in Saturday's preseason game against the Lions.

Universally regarded as one of the NFL's best kickers, Tucker signed a four-year, $16.8 million deal in the offseason, closely mimicking the contract signed by New England's Stephen Gostkowski a year prior. Despite being attached to an offense that's been inconsistent during his tenure, Tucker has always been at least a decent option at his position, boasting a unique combination of accuracy and leg strength. If the Baltimore offense is merely decent, Tucker shouldn't have much trouble finishing as a top-10 kicker.

Santos converted each of his three field goal attempts in the Chiefs' third preseason game against the Bears, while adding two extra points.

Santos is off to a nice start through three exhibitions, making eight of his nine field goal attempts thus far. He tied for fifth in field goals made (30) in 2015 and should be in line for similar production again this season.

The kicking competition between Barth and Kai Forbath is still "dead even," according to Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. Both players converted on their lone extra point attempts in Friday's preseason tilt against the Steelers.

Forbath may have the edge due to his incumbent status, but Barth has been solid through training camp, and the starting gig remains firmly up for grabs entering the final week of the preseason. A miss or a clutch kick in Thursday's finale would probably sway the decision either way. The winner is not likely to be a top-5 fantasy kicker due to the Saints' consistently high touchdown conversion rate in the red zone but should nonetheless be an above-average option.

Coons was waived by the Browns, the team announced Monday.

Coons was been battling with kicker Patrick Murray this preseason, and coming off a season where he hit 28 of 32 attempts overall, it seemed like Coons was slated to be the team's starting kicker once again. However, it looks like the Browns will go with Murray, leaving Coons for hire on the NFL market right now.

Prater converted 2-of-3 field goal attempts Saturday during the Lions' preseason loss to the Ravens.

Prater's lone blemish was a 53-yard attempt that pegged the right upright, but he otherwise converted a 28-yarder as well as a 60-yarder as time expired in the first half. Though facing heat from undrafted rookie Devon Bell, who converted one of his two attempts on Saturday, Prater has displayed significantly superior leg strength and appears poised to handle Detroit's kicking duties yet again during the 2016 campaign.

Gano converted his lone field goal attempt in Friday's preseason game against the Patriots.

Gano's 29-yarder gave him his only points of Friday's contest, when the Panthers' offense failed to move the ball and put him in scoring situations. When called upon, Gano has converted all seven of his field goal attempts across Carolina's three preseason tilts, although he did miss an extra point last week against Baltimore. Coming off a career-best 146 points last season, Gano's fantasy value currently sits at its highest level since he entered the league in 2009.

Franks' teammate Marshall Koehn was released by the Dolphins on Saturday, Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

After winning the job as an undrafted rookie last season, Franks was able to fend off undrafted rookie Marshall Koehn. Franks didn't have many opportunities last year, converting 13 of 16 field-goal attempts and 33 of 36 PATs. The gap between field-goal tries and extra points figures to be much smaller this year.

Koehn was released by the Dolphins on Saturday, Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

Andrew Franks won Miami's kicking competition, despite missing his only field-goal attempt in the team's third preseason game. Koehn, an undrafted rookie, will have a tough time finding another opportunity before the start of the season.

Koehn connected on 45-yard field goal in Thursday's preseason win over the Falcons.

Koehn is battling with incumbent Andrew Franks for the kicking job. While Franks, who was 13-of-16 last season with the Dolphins, certainly has a leg up, Koehn made a good showing on Thursday night while Franks missed his only attempt. Look for this kicking battle to come down to the final preseason game.