Who Should I Start? Matt Prater or Harrison Butker

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.

Saturday, February 8, 4:24 AM

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker will face the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl this weekend. Butker will be making his fifth Super Bowl appearance on Sunday, and he performed well in his previous outings. The Chiefs kicker has attempted 10 field goals in the last game of the season and nailed nine. Butker has also made all 10 extra-point attempts in the Super Bowl. Regardless of the pace of play, the Chiefs kicker should make his mark on this contest. The 29-year-old has been a clutch performer in Super Bowls for Kansas City, notably nailing a kick in the final seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime. The opportunity to impact the game will be offered to Butker and it will be up to him to deliver. Butker is a good pick in DFS and playoff leagues, especially given his consistency compared to Jake Elliot.