Who Should I Start? Matt Prater or John Parker Romo

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.

Monday, January 6, 9:50 PM

New England Patriots kicker John Parker Romo has signed a reserve/future deal with the organization on Monday. Romo joined the Pats practice squad in December after a stint with the Minnesota Vikings. Romo filled in for the injured Will Reichard for four games in Minnesota this season. He converted 11-of-12 field goal attempts and 7-of-8 extra point attempts in his time with the team. Current Pats' kicker Joey Slye made only 79 percent of his field goal attempts this season. Romo should get a legitimate shot at the kicking job in New England heading into next season.