Who Should I Start? Matt Prater or Justin Tucker

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, May 5, 5:32 PM

Baltimore Ravens executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta revealed the team's release of veteran kicker Justin Tucker in an official statement on X. Amid allegations of potential misconduct, the thirteen-year pro is out in Baltimore. The 35-year-old is currently still the league's most accurate kicker, though Kansas City's Harrison Butker is hot on his heels and could overtake him. Before 2024, Tucker was seemingly a shoo-in for best kicker in fantasy, but things took a turn with the news of allegations against him. Never falling under an 82.3% success rate in a given season, his production cratered last year -- setting career-lows in makes and attempts (22-for-30) while missing two extra-point attempts for the first time since 2019. It's unclear what the outcome will be regarding his legal issues, nor if he'll find a job with another NFL team. It's an unfortunate instance that tarnishes a fantastic career.