The Falcons are placing K Younghoe Koo on IR, ending his regular season. He'll be replaced by K Riley Patterson, who kicked for the Jets and Browns for a game apiece earlier this season. He's connected on 88% of his career FG tries. Kicking indoors for a Falcons team with a 25.25-point implied total, Patterson is a viable Week 16 fantasy start.
Browns K Dustin Hopkins is a healthy scratch for today's game vs. the Chiefs. He's struggled all year, missing nine FGs and two XPs. Hopkins will be replaced by K Riley Patterson, who would be a bad fantasy play with rain and wind expected in Cleveland today.
The Jets have released K Riley Patterson and signed K Anders Carlson. It looks like it'll be Carlson kicking for New York vs. the Cardinals this weekend. He kicked for the 49ers in their last two games, making all five FG attempts and three of four XPs. Carlson is a middling Week 10 fantasy option.
Jets K Greg Zuerlein will miss Thursday night's game vs. the Texans with a knee injury, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Perhaps the knee explains Zuerlein's struggles this season. He's connected on just nine of 15 FG attempts through eight games. The Jets signed Ks Riley Patterson and Spencer Shrader to their practice squad. One of them will kick against Houston, but you should avoid the situation in fantasy lineups.
Update: Zuerlein has been placed on IR. He can be dropped from fantasy rosters.
Browns K Dustin Hopkins (hamstring) is out for Thursday night's game vs. the Jets. Riley Patterson will kick in his place but is not a strong fantasy option with Cleveland's implied total at just 21 points.
The Browns signed K Riley Patterson to their practice squad. He'll step in if K Dustin Hopkins' hamstring injury costs him further time. Patterson was dumped by the Lions a week ago after missing a pair of XPs in a three-game stretch. But he connected on 15 of 17 FGs this year.
Lions K Riley Patterson is a healthy scratch for tonight's game vs. the Broncos. Detroit will instead roll with K Michael Badgley, who was just promoted from the practice squad. If you were hoping to use Patterson in fantasy lineups this week, Badgley is a fine replacement.
The Lions released K Michael Badgley. That leaves K Riley Patterson atop the depth chart. We'll see if Detroit brings in new competition ahead of Week 1, but Patterson is clearly the odds-on favorite to open the season as the starter. If he hangs onto that role, he'll be squarely on the fantasy radar kicking for an above-average offense with domed home games.
The Jaguars traded K Riley Patterson to the Lions in exchange for a 2026 conditional 7th-round pick. It was originally reported that Patterson would be released, but the Lions evidently didn't want to let him hit the open market. Patterson will presumably compete with K Michael Badgley for the starting job this summer. The winner will be squarely on the fantasy radar in an ascending Detroit offense.
The Jaguars are signing former Broncos K Brandon McManus to a one-year deal. Jacksonville is also waiving K Riley Patterson. McManus finished 2022 well behind Patterson in FG conversion rate, hitting just 77.8% of his kicks (29th in the league) vs. Patterson's 85.7% (tied for 17th). But has been better than that overall (81.9% career) and averaged 5 FGs of 50+ yards across seven full year's as Denver's kicker. Landing in the ascending Jaguars offense makes McManus a top-10 option in our updated kicker rankings.
Lions beat writer Kyle Meinke writes that there is "no doubt” Austin Seibert will enter Week 1 as the team’s kicker. Seibert, who boasts a stronger leg than competitor Riley Patterson, is an 82% FG kicker for his career. He isn’t one of our top kicker targets.
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