Who Should I Start? Matt Prater or Riley Patterson

Wednesday, January 7, 3:42 PM

Buffalo Bills kicker Matt Prater (quadriceps) was unable to practice on Wednesday. Prater aggravated a quad injury in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the New York Jets on Sunday and is now questionable to be able to kick in the first round of the playoffs this Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Head coach Sean McDermott said that the team is planning to have Prater return to practice on Thursday, which will give him a chance to play on Wild-Card weekend. As insurance, the Bills added journeyman kicker Matthew Wright to their practice squad on Tuesday. If Prater doesn't get cleared to play against the Jags, Wright will fill in as the team's placekicker on Sunday. Given the 41-year-old Prater's injury going into the postseason, fantasy managers should consider him a weak option for lineups this week.

Saturday, December 13, 6:51 PM

Miami Dolphins kicker Riley Patterson has been solid but not spectacular this season, while filling in for Jason Sanders (hip), who remains on IR. Patterson has made 23 of his 25 field goal attempts and 28 of his 29 extra point attempts. He didn't have any issues on the road in the cold against the Jets last week, making all four of his kicks. This week, he'll be on the road for a night game in Pittsburgh with very cold temperatures again in the forecast. While it won't be ideal conditions for long field goals, Patterson has been consistent enough from short range to not be a total "must avoid" option, especially since the Steelers have been a top-10 matchup for kickers. Patterson is the No. 19 kicker in RotoBaller's Week 15 rankings, so there are potentially kickers with more upside on the waiver wire in most standard-sized leagues this week.