Who Should I Start? Riley Patterson or Will Reichard

Wednesday, August 27, 7:51 PM

The Miami Dolphins officially signed free-agent kicker Riley Patterson to their practice squad on Wednesday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Patterson is expected to be elevated to kick against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 of the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 7, in place of the injured Jason Sanders (hip). The Dolphins put Sanders on short-term Injured Reserve on Tuesday, meaning he'll miss at least the first four games of the 2025 season. The 25-year-old Patterson will get a shot to fill in as Miami's kicker until Sanders returns, although he won't really be a starting kicking option in 12-team fantasy leagues. Patterson has already kicked for five different teams in his four NFL seasons and has made 85.1% of his 74 field-goal attempts and 96.5% of his 112 extra-point tries. He's gone just 4-for-9 from 50-plus yards out.

Saturday, January 11, 6:18 PM

Minnesota Vikings placekicker Will Reichard is a solid option this Monday night when he lines up with the Los Angeles Rams on the road. It's been a tale of two halves for the 24-year-old in his debut campaign. Reichard was excellent early in the year -; missing nary a kick in his first seven appearances. However, he hasn't been as fortunate since. The rookie missed his first two field goals in Week 9 and was placed on injured reserve afterward with a quad injury. Despite only a minimum IR stay, his kicking troubles have continued -; missing at least one attempt in three of the ensuing five contests. Still, he's yet to miss an extra-point try in 2024 and has an excellent opportunity to hang some more points on the board against a Rams defensive unit that allowed the seventh-most total yards per game in the NFL (352.8).