Who Should I Start? Cairo Santos or Riley Patterson

Tuesday, December 24, 2:19 PM

Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos should not be viewed as a viable streaming option on Thursday evening when the Bears host the Seattle Seahawks. Last weekend, Santos went 1-for-1 on attempts and 2-for-2 on extra points during their loss to the Detroit Lions. Over the past four weeks, Santos has only attempted two or more field goals in a single game on one occasion. During this span he attempted zero field goals in two of the games. Even though he holds a strong 84.6 FG% since Week 9, Santos has not been given enough volume to provide a solid fantasy output. During the fantasy playoffs, it is critical to target kickers on high-scoring offensive units and the Chicago Bears do not fit that criteria. Facing a Seattle Seahawks defense that has allowed the tenth-fewest fantasy points to opposing kickers, fantasy managers should look elsewhere for a streaming option.

Wednesday, August 27, 7:51 PM

The Miami Dolphins officially signed free-agent kicker Riley Patterson to their practice squad on Wednesday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Patterson is expected to be elevated to kick against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 of the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 7, in place of the injured Jason Sanders (hip). The Dolphins put Sanders on short-term Injured Reserve on Tuesday, meaning he'll miss at least the first four games of the 2025 season. The 25-year-old Patterson will get a shot to fill in as Miami's kicker until Sanders returns, although he won't really be a starting kicking option in 12-team fantasy leagues. Patterson has already kicked for five different teams in his four NFL seasons and has made 85.1% of his 74 field-goal attempts and 96.5% of his 112 extra-point tries. He's gone just 4-for-9 from 50-plus yards out.