Who Should I Start? Matt Prater or Anders Carlson

Tuesday, October 15, 7:55 PM

The Arizona Cardinals placed kicker Matt Prater (knee) and defensive lineman Bilal Nichols (neck) on Injured Reserve on Tuesday, meaning both players will have to miss at least the next four games. Nichols will miss the rest of the season. To replace Prater on the active 53-man roster, the Cardinals elevated Chad Ryland from the practice squad. In the last two games with Prater out, Ryland has gone 5-for-6 on field goals and made both of his extra points. Prater made all six of his field goals and went 10-for-10 on extra points in his four games, surpassing the career 1,800-point plateau. The earliest Prater will be eligible to return from IR will be after the team's Week 11 bye for a Week 12 contest against the division-rival Seattle Seahawks. Ryland will be a poor streaming option for fantasy managers in Week 7 against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night.

Monday, November 18, 8:39 PM

The New York Jets signed kicker Anders Carlson to their 53-man active roster on Monday after the Kansas City Chiefs swooped Spencer Shrader off their practice squad last week. In his debut with the Jets in the 28-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Carlson made both of his field-goal attempts (long of 58 yards) and all three of his extra-point tries. The 26-year-old struggled with the Green Bay Packers in his rookie season in 2023, making only 81.8% of his 33 field-goal attempts before the Packers cut him in training camp. Carlson had a two-game stint with the San Francisco 49ers earlier this year while filling in for the injured Jake Moody and made all five of his field-goal opportunities while missing one of his four extra points. At best, Carlson will be a deep-league streaming option in fantasy with Greg Zuerlein (knee) still on Injured Reserve.