Who Should I Start? Dustin Hopkins or Joey Slye

Thursday, January 11, 3:00 PM

Cleveland Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins (hamstring) has officially been ruled out for Saturday's wild-card playoff game against the Houston Texans after missing practice all week. Hopkins will miss his third straight game due to his hamstring injury. Riley Patterson, who has served as Cleveland's kicker the last two games with Hopkins out, will likely be elevated from the practice squad to the 53-man active roster for Saturday's playoff contest. The 24-year-old was the Detroit Lions' primary kicker for 13 games this year before getting cut and latching on with the Browns. In 15 total games between both teams this year, he's gone 16-for-18 on field-goal tries and has miss three of his 44 extra-point attempts. Fantasy managers should be looking for better options at the position on wild-card weekend.

Monday, March 18, 12:12 PM

Washington Commanders free-agent kicker Joey Slye signed an undisclosed one-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday, according to a source. The Jaguars initially were reported to have signed Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz this offseason, but that turned out to be false and Lutz re-signed with the Broncos. The Jaguars also have Riley Patterson, who they signed to a futures deal, so Slye and Patterson figure to be in competition for the primary kicking gig in Jacksonville in training camp this summer. The 27-year-old Slye has made only 82.3% of his field-goal attempts in five seasons in the NFL. In 17 games for the Commanders last year, he went 19-for-24 on field goals and 32-for-35 on his extra-point tries. Fantasy managers will be able to find better options at the position.