Who Should I Start? Riley Patterson or Anders Carlson

Thursday, August 22, 9:20 AM

The Washington Commanders are releasing kicker Riley Patterson following the trade for former Cleveland Browns kicker Cade York, according to John Keim of ESPN. Patterson has spent time with six NFL organizations since going undrafted out of Memphis in 2021. He's seen regular-season action with the Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Cleveland Browns, and has made 59 of his 67 field goal attempts through the first 39 contests of his career. Patterson's 88.1% career field goal percentage is above the league's average, so it would not be surprising if he lands another opportunity this season.

Tuesday, August 27, 5:32 PM

The Green Bay Packers released second-year kicker Anders Carlson on Tuesday, according to a source. Carlson has lost the competition for the starting kicking job in Green Bay heading into Week 1 of the regular season. Veteran Greg Joseph is now competing with Alex Hale, but Joseph is the clear front-runner for the job, especially now that Carlson is out of the picture. The 26-year-old Carlson, a sixth-round selection last year out of Auburn, had an abysmal rookie campaign with the Packers, making only 81.8% of his 33 field-goal attempts during the regular season and also missing five of his 39 extra-point tries in 17 starts. The younger brother of Las Vegas Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson will now be looking for work elsewhere in just his second NFL season. In leagues with kickers in play, fantasy managers should be able to find better options than Joseph.