McLaughlin and his competitor for the starting placekicker job, Rodrigo Blankenship, have been running very close in their job battle heading into Friday's preseason opener versus the Steelers, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports.

Both kickers already have a solid amount of NFL experience on their resumes, so the battle could well extend clean through the third preseason game. The two are likely to split field-goal and extra-point opportunities Friday, and Smith reports that Wednesday's dead-even kicking derby in practice that saw both players go a perfect 4-for-4 on attempts of varying distances was emblematic of how close the competition has been.

Lutz has demonstrated improved leg strength in training camp and is well ahead of Blake Grupe in the Saints' kicking competition, Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com reports.

Lutz made a 62-yard field goal in practice and has been accurate throughout training camp. He made 23 of 31 field-goal attempts for the Saints in 2022 for a career-low success rate of 74.2 percent, but Lutz will be looking to rebound closer to his career conversion rate of 84.6 percent in 2023.

Hopkins (undisclosed) did not practice Wednesday, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

Hopkins also didn't practice Sunday, and it's unclear if he took the field anytime between then and now. The 32-year-old is currently in competition with Cameron Dicker for the team's kicking duties, so any continued missed time could be detrimental to his chances.

Aubrey went 7-for-9 on field-goal attempts Monday in his first practice since the Cowboys waived Tristan Vizcaino, Saad Yousef of The Athletic reports.

"We're comfortable [at kicker]," owner/GM Jerry Jones said after the practice. "We're excited about what we've seen. We're excited about how he got here. He's having a real solid camp. We're very comfortable going into the season with him." Despite Jones' endorsement, Aubrey's performance so far in training camp hasn't been so good that the team is closing the door on adding competition for the rookie. "The option of a veteran kicker, that's still a possibility," coach Mike McCarthy said. Aubrey could wind up being a productive fantasy asset riding shotgun for a potent Dallas offense if he does begin the season with the kicking job, but until the former USFL player proves himself in the NFL, he'll be a risky option.

Wright signed a contract with the Panthers on Tuesday.

Wright will get a chance in Carolina, because the expected starter, Eddy Pineiro, is currently dealing with a groin injury. Wright spent time filling in with both Kansas City and Pittsburgh last season, suiting up six times and combining to make 15 of his 18 field-goal attempts, as well as all 15 of his extra-point tries. Although he is unlikely to unseat Pineiro, he'll now possibly get an opportunity to audition for other teams during the preseason.

Pineiro could miss time during the preseason due to a groin injury, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Pineiro, who re-signed with Carolina on a two-year contract early this offseason, could be in danger of missing Saturday's preseason opener versus the Jets. As a result, the Panthers have signed Matthew Wright to the roster and waived undrafted rookie tackle BJ Wilson. There's not yet any indication that Pineiro's injury could endanger his regular-season availability.

Hopkins didn't participate in Sunday's scrimmage due to an undisclosed injury, Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Although it's unclear what health concern Hopkins is dealing with, he's battling a physical issue that has prevented him from kicking over the past week, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports. He's competing with Cameron Dicker for the Chargers' kicking job, and a timetable for Hopkins' return remains to be seen.

Dicker has taken all of the practice field-goal attempts over the last couple of special teams periods, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports.

Dicker entered training camp in an apparent battle for the starting job with veteran incumbent Dustin Hopkins, but the latter has not attempted a field goal since the beginning of the week, and the Chargers have not mentioned Hopkins dealing with any sort of injury. Dicker made 19 of his 20 field-goal attempts last season in relief of the injured Hopkins, with the lone miss coming in the team's dreadful wild-card loss to the Jaguars.

Zuerlein connected on all three of his field-goal attempts and his lone PAT attempt in Thursday's 21-16 preseason loss to Cleveland.

All of Zuerlein's output came in the first half, as he made field goals from 54, 44 and 53 yards away. Greg the Leg is expected to be far busier in 2023 after the Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers in the offseason to lead their offense.

York missed a 49-yard field-goal attempt and made all three extra-point tries in Thursday's preseason win over the Jets.

York was wide right on the Browns' first drive of the game. He's coming off a roller coaster of a rookie season that included three misses inside the 40 and a 75-percent success rate. Prior to the start of training camp, Cleveland special teams coach Bubba Ventrone told Ashley Bostock of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that York is very in-tune with his mechanics, then added the caveat, "almost too in-tune at times," which provides insight into his inconsistency last season. The kicker himself said preseason is the time to focus on technique, but he needs to put that behind him when transitioning to the regular season.