Who Should I Start? Matt Prater or Anders Carlson

Friday, January 3, 12:10 PM

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said that veteran kicker Matt Prater (knee) "will not go" in the Week 18 regular-season finale on Sunday against the division-rival San Francisco 49ers. Prater suffered a meniscus injury in his knee earlier this year and missed the last three months as a result. The 40-year-old kicker only ended up playing in four games in 2024 before injuring his knee in his fourth year with Arizona and 18th year in the NFL. In the four games he was active, Prater made all six of his field-goal attempts (one from 50-plus yards) and was successful on all 10 of his extra-point tries as well. Prater will be a free agent heading into his age-41 season in 2025. Chad Ryland will close out the year this weekend as Arizona's kicker. He's bounced back from a tough rookie season with the Pats to go 26-for-30 on field goals and 21-for-22 on extra points in his 12 games with the Cardinals.

Wednesday, June 18, 12:31 PM

The New York Jets released kicker Anders Carlson on Wednesday and signed kicker Harrison Mevis in a corresponding move, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Mevis made 20 of his 21 field-goal attempts (95.2%) this year while playing for the UFL's Birmingham Stallions. Carlson, 27, is the younger brother of Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson. The Auburn product hasn't been as good as his older brother in the NFL, though, making 83.3% of his 48 field-goal tries since entering the league in 2023 with the Green Bay Packers. He went 13-for-15 on his field goals and 12-for-15 on extra points in seven games in 2024 with the San Francisco 49ers and the Jets. Carlson will now look for another team to sign with before training camp. Mevis will be competing with Caden Davis for the starting kicking job this summer.