Who Should I Start? Evan McPherson or Spencer Shrader

Wednesday, December 4, 3:42 PM

The Cincinnati Bengals placed kicker Evan McPherson (groin) on Injured Reserve on Wednesday. It was announced earlier on Wednesday that McPherson would miss some time due to his injury, and now he won't be eligible to return until the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers. With fantasy championship matchups in most leagues coming in Week 17, managers with McPherson on their rosters in redraft leagues can let him go. The Browns worked out and signed former Washington Commanders and Cleveland Browns kicker Cade York on Wednesday, and he will be their kicker in Week 14 on Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys. Like the Bengals in 2024, the 25-year-old McPherson was a fantasy disappointment in 12 game, going 16-for-22 on field-goal tries while missing just one of his 38 extra points.

Thursday, March 13, 9:49 PM

The Indianapolis Colts announced on Thursday that they have signed free-agent kicker Spencer Shrader to an undisclosed deal. Shrader will return to Indianapolis after making all three of his extra points in the Week 1 loss to the division-rival Houston Texans. The 25-year-old also appeared in games with the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs in his first year in the NFL in 2024, going a combined 5-for-5 on field-goal attempts (zero attempts from 50-plus yards) and 9-for-9 on extra-point tries. Shrader didn't miss a single kick, but it was also a small sample size. He was brought in to compete with veteran Matt Gay this summer after Gay made just 83.8 percent of his 37 field-goal attempts in his second year with the team. Whoever wins the competition should be left to the waiver wire in 12-team fantasy leagues.