NFL Player News

Szmyt converted all three of his field-goal attempts and went 4-for-4 on PATs in Thursday's 37-13 preseason win over the Patriots.

Szmyt is the only kicker on Cleveland's roster, and the Syracuse product rewarded the Browns' faith in him with a perfect performance Thursday. He served as the Browns' kicker for the entire 2025 regular season, connecting on 24 of 27 field-goal attempts. The Browns are expected to have one of the league's worst offenses again in 2026 after scoring the second-fewest points in the 2025 regular season, so Szmyt's opportunities are likely to remain limited, Thursday's busy exhibition outing notwithstanding.

Sanders appears to be the frontrunner to open the season as the Jets' kicker after Cade York was waived Tuesday, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports.

The Jets brought in both Sanders and York on one-year deals to compete for the kicking job. Sanders' longer record of NFL success gave him an early edge, and he ended up pulling away after converting both of his point-after attempts as well as field-goal attempts from 39 and 47 yards in the first two preseason contests. Jets special teams coach Chris Banjo said Tuesday that Sanders "has won the job" at placekicker, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.

The Jets will waive York on Tuesday, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reports.

He came up short in the battle for the Jets' kicking job, with Jason Sanders emerging as the victor. Since converting 24 of 32 field-goal attempts while appearing in all 17 games as a rookie with the Browns in 2022, York has bounced around the league over the last four years, spending time in the Giants, Commanders, Bengals and Jets organizations.

The Saints signed Daniel Carlson to a contract Monday, and Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports that the move indicates that Smythe may not be New Orleans' kicker for the upcoming season.

Smythe joined New Orleans in 2024 through the International Player Pathway and took over as the team's kicker over the final five games of the 2025 regular season, going 12-for-16 on field-goal attempts and 13-for-13 on extra-point tries. However, Smythe was unable to separate himself from Tanner Brown in the kicking competition in training camp, and the Saints have elected add Carlson into the mix. The Saints should confirm who their kicker is for the regular season following Friday's preseason finale against the Cowboys.

Reichard is a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals through the first two preseason games, with a long of 54 yards.

Reichard was a top-10 fantasy kicker last year and looks to be ready for the season, considering he's been perfect thus far this preseason. Richard finished the 2025 campaign tied with the Cowboys' Brandon Aubrey and the Buccaneers' Chase McLaughlin for the league lead in made kicks from 50-plus yards.

Loop is 3-for-4 on field goal tries and 4-for-4 on extra points thus far in preseason.

The second-year kicker is under a bit of a microscope after an uneven rookie campaign that had some lowlights, such as the missed kick in Week 18 against the Steelers that kept Baltimore out of the playoffs. The team has expressed confidence in Loop throughout the offseason by not bringing in a veteran kicker to compete. Loop missed his first field goal of the preseason but has been true on his other attempts. Additionally, Loop has developed some consistency in practices, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.

Carlson agreed to a contract with the Saints on Monday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

A two-time All-Pro selection with the Raiders, Carlson will add a more battled-tested option to a Saints kicker competition that includes incumbent Charlie Smyth and Tanner Brown. The 31-year-old Carlson had been unsigned since May, and even after a down year with Las Vegas in 2025, he's still converted his field-goal attempts at a stellar 86.9 percent clip through his first eight NFL seasons.

Slye converted all four of his field-goal attempts and made his only PAT try in Sunday's 19-16 preseason win over the Seahawks.

Slye has been locked in this preseason. He hit all four of his field-goal attempts in the preseason opener against San Francisco, with a long of 58 yards, and Slye added another 4-for-4 performance Sunday. Slye was true from 55, 33, 40 and 43 yards against the Seahawks. The big-legged kicker is thriving in the low-pressure environment of the preseason, but Slye has had accuracy issues creep up during the past three regular seasons, converting 80 percent or fewer of his field-goal attempts in each of those campaigns.

Marjan was waived by the Steelers on Sunday, Chris Adamski of TribLive.com reports.

Marjan went 3-for-3 on extra-point attempts while missing a 44-yard field-goal try over two preseason games with the Steelers before being let go. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, there's a good chance he remains with Pittsburgh as a member of the team's practice squad.

Ryland made field goals of 38 and 31 yards, missed a 62-yarder wide right and knocked through his only extra-point try in the Cardinals' 34-13 preseason loss to the Cowboys on Saturday.

Ryland's one miss was excusable considering the distance, and the fourth-year pro was otherwise perfect on the night. Through three preseason games, the 2023 fourth-round pick of the Patriots is 7-for-9 on field goals and has connected on all seven extra-point tries. Ryland is the only placekicker on the Cardinals' roster and will be looking to improve on the 81.5 percent success rate on field goals that he's mustered over his first two seasons in Arizona during the 2026 campaign.