Who Should I Start? Wil Lutz or Riley Patterson

Wednesday, February 5, 12:22 PM

The Athletic's Nick Kosmider writes that it's probably a no-brainer decision for the Denver Broncos to bring back veteran kicker Wil Lutz in 2025 despite the fact that he has no guaranteed money left on his current deal. If the Broncos wanted to, they could cut Lutz this offseason for a savings of at least $3 million with limited dead money left behind. Lutz is scheduled to make $3.89 million in 2025, but after being one of the most accurate and trustworthy kickers in the NFL this past season, it would be a surprise if the Broncos cut him. Not only does head coach Sean Payton have plenty of trust and history with Lutz, but Lutz also kicked for the New Orleans Saints under Darren Rizzi, who is likely to become Denver's next special teams coordinator. The 30-year-old finished as the No. 7 kicker in overall fantasy points by making 31 of his 34 field goal-attempts and all 46 of his extra points in 17 regular-season games.

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.