Who Should I Start? Dustin Hopkins or Kaimi Fairbairn

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.

Wednesday, March 6, 2:35 PM

The Houston Texans re-signed kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn to a three-year, $15.9 million deal on Wednesday, according to a source. Fairbairn's average annual value of $5.3 million makes him the fourth-highest paid kicker in the league on a yearly basis. The 30-year-old kicked in a career-low 12 games in 2023 due to injury, but he was solid when he was active, making 96.4 percent of his 28 field-goal attempts while missing just one of his 22 extra-point tries during the regular season. All seven of his NFL seasons have come with the Texans, and he's made 87.1 percent of his 201 field-goal attempts in that time. With young quarterback C.J. Stroud leading what should be an explosive Houston offense for years to come, Fairbairn's fantasy needle is pointing up heading into 2024.