Browns K Dustin Hopkins (hamstring) is out for Thursday night's game vs. the Jets. Riley Patterson will kick in his place but is not a strong fantasy option with Cleveland's implied total at just 21 points.
The Browns signed K Riley Patterson to their practice squad. He'll step in if K Dustin Hopkins' hamstring injury costs him further time. Patterson was dumped by the Lions a week ago after missing a pair of XPs in a three-game stretch. But he connected on 15 of 17 FGs this year.
Lions K Riley Patterson is a healthy scratch for tonight's game vs. the Broncos. Detroit will instead roll with K Michael Badgley, who was just promoted from the practice squad. If you were hoping to use Patterson in fantasy lineups this week, Badgley is a fine replacement.
The Lions released K Michael Badgley. That leaves K Riley Patterson atop the depth chart. We'll see if Detroit brings in new competition ahead of Week 1, but Patterson is clearly the odds-on favorite to open the season as the starter. If he hangs onto that role, he'll be squarely on the fantasy radar kicking for an above-average offense with domed home games.
The Jaguars traded K Riley Patterson to the Lions in exchange for a 2026 conditional 7th-round pick. It was originally reported that Patterson would be released, but the Lions evidently didn't want to let him hit the open market. Patterson will presumably compete with K Michael Badgley for the starting job this summer. The winner will be squarely on the fantasy radar in an ascending Detroit offense.
The Jaguars are signing former Broncos K Brandon McManus to a one-year deal. Jacksonville is also waiving K Riley Patterson. McManus finished 2022 well behind Patterson in FG conversion rate, hitting just 77.8% of his kicks (29th in the league) vs. Patterson's 85.7% (tied for 17th). But has been better than that overall (81.9% career) and averaged 5 FGs of 50+ yards across seven full year's as Denver's kicker. Landing in the ascending Jaguars offense makes McManus a top-10 option in our updated kicker rankings.
Lions beat writer Kyle Meinke writes that there is "no doubt” Austin Seibert will enter Week 1 as the team’s kicker. Seibert, who boasts a stronger leg than competitor Riley Patterson, is an 82% FG kicker for his career. He isn’t one of our top kicker targets.
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