Who Should I Start? Eddy Pineiro or Ramiz Ahmed

Saturday, August 24, 6:51 PM

Carolina Panthers kicker Eddy Pineiro (hamstring) didn't return for the second half of Saturday's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills. Pineiro was forced to exit the game due to mild hamstring soreness. Head coach Dave Canales said afterwards that Pineiro is fine and the team held him out for precautionary reasons. Before exiting, Pineiro made both his extra-point attempts and a 45-yard field goal during the first half of Saturday's game. The assumption is that Pineiro should be fine for the regular season opener against the New Orleans Saints.

Saturday, August 10, 7:37 PM

Washington Commanders kicker Ramiz Ahmed went 1-for-1 on his field goal attempts and 2-for-2 on his extra-point attempts on Saturday afternoon. His field goal attempt came from 40 yards out. This is important to note because Riley Patterson missed his lone field goal try from 39 yards out. Brandon McManus was originally brought in during free agency to serve as the starting kicker in D.C. but was let go in June due to being involved with a civil lawsuit. As a result, this opened up a competition between Ahmed and Patterson, and after the team's first preseason game, Ahmed may be in the lead. Patterson does have more experience in the NFL and has gone 59-for-67 throughout the first four seasons of his career. Ahmed made only one NFL appearance back in 2022 with the Green Bay Packers and moved on to play for the Birmingham Stallions in the UFL last spring. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor this competition as the winner could be fantasy-relevant, especially if rookie Jayden Daniels is able to adjust to the NFL fairly quickly and move the Washington offense downfield on a consistent basis.