Who Should I Start? Matthew Wright or Spencer Shrader

Tuesday, January 6, 4:59 PM

The Buffalo Bills announced on Tuesday that they signed free-agent kicker Matthew Wright to their practice squad. Veteran kicker Matt Prater (quadriceps) aggravated his quad injury in the Week 18 win over the New York Jets on Sunday, which means that Wright will most likely be promoted to the active 53-man roster for this weekend's Wild-Card matchup at the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 29-year-old Wright kicked for three teams in 2025 -- the Tennessee Titans, Washington Commanders, and Houston Texans -- making all five of his field-goal tries and all four of his extra-point attempts in only four games played. Wright has kicked for eight teams in his six NFL seasons, making 88.2% of his 68 field-goal attempts. He's gone 45-for-47 on extra points. Given Prater's uncertain status for the weekend, fantasy managers would be wise to avoid Buffalo's kicking situation entering the playoffs.

Monday, October 6, 11:21 PM

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen said that kicker Spencer Shrader (knee) tore his ACL and MCL in his right knee in the Week 5 win over the Las Vegas Raiders and will miss the rest of the season, according to Stephen Holder of ESPN.com. Shrader was injured when a defender crashed into his knee following a kick on Sunday. It's a tough break for the 26-year-old and the 4-1 Colts, as Shrader had missed just one of his 14 field-goal tries while making all 14 of his extra-point attempts in five games before his season-ending injury. With no current kicker other than Shrader on the active roster or practice squad, the Colts will be working out free-agent kickers this week as they head into a Week 6 meeting with the visiting Arizona Cardinals. Fantasy managers who had been using Shrader at the position will have to hit the waiver wire for a replacement.