Who Should I Start? Brandon McManus or Tyler Bass

Sunday, November 2, 11:59 AM

Green Bay Packers kicker Brandon McManus (quadriceps) is officially active and will kick in Week 9 on Sunday against the visiting Carolina Panthers. McManus was listed as questionable on the final injury report despite putting in two full practices this week. The 34-year-old veteran placekicker came out of the team's Week 5 bye with a quad injury that sidelined him in Weeks 6 and 7, but he returned in last week's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers to make two of his four field-goal tries and all three of his extra-point attempts. He has gone 9-for-13 on field goals in 2025 and 14-for-15 on extra points. With McManus active for the second straight week, Lucas Havrisik is a healthy scratch. McManus might not be completely healthy, which makes him a borderline streaming option for fantasy managers in Week 9.

Thursday, October 9, 12:55 PM

While Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott remained non-committal on whether kicker Tyler Bass (groin, hip) would be able to play this season, he did say that he is "heading in the right direction," according to Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic. Bass remains on Injured Reserve, and the Bills didn't feel comfortable opening his 21-day practice window this week, which means he will not be ready to return for Monday night's contest in Week 7 against the Atlanta Falcons. The Bills probably aren't in any rush to bring the 28-year-old Bass back, with veteran Matt Prater being a reliable fill-in through the first five weeks of 2025. Prater has gone 10-for-15 on his field-goal chances while making all 15 of his extra-point opportunities for the 4-1 Bills. When/if Bass is fully healthy and ready to resume kicking, he should take back over as Buffalo's starting placekicker.