Who Should I Start? Matt Prater or Graham Gano

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.

Wednesday, October 16, 5:18 PM

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll said that kicker Graham Gano (hamstring) won't come off the Injured Reserve to kick in Week 7 against the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles. Gano is not ready to return to the team despite missing the required four games on IR, so the Giants are expected to roll with veteran Greg Joseph again this Sunday. The 37-year-old Gano is recovering from a right-hamstring injury. Fantasy managers should be looking elsewhere for a kicking option this weekend. The Giants offense hasn't been great in 2024, although they could be getting rookie wideout Malik Nabers (concussion) back against the Eagles. Joseph missed both of his field-goal chances in the Week 6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and has made eight of his 11 field-goal tries overall in his four games this year.