Slye (hamstring) has been activated off IR by Washington.

Slye, who lasted suited up in Week 12, is thus an option to be made active for Sunday night's game against the Cowboys. At this time, however, Washington is carrying two kickers -- Slye and Brian Johnson -- ahead of Week 16 action, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

Folk (knee) is officially listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Buffalo, Zack Cox of NESN.com reports.

Folk's placement on the injury report can be taken with a grain of salt at this point, as the veteran kicker has yet to miss a contest despite constantly being slapped with a questionable tag. Folk has converted 34 of 37 field-goal attempts and 31 of 35 extra-point tries on the campaign.

McLaughlin tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday and isn't expected to be available for Saturday's game against the Packers, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

According to Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer, McLaughlin is in line to land on the reserve/COVID-19 list, with Chris Naggar slated to come up from the team's practice squad in advance of Saturday's game. Look for the moves to be made official later Friday.

Washington designated Slye (hamstring) for return from injured reserve Thursday, Aaron Wilson of Sportstalk 790 Houston reports.

Slye was forced to IR after pulling his hamstring following a blocked field-goal attempt Week 12 against the Seahawks. After sitting out the mandatory three games, he now has a 21-day window in which to prove his health at practice, with the potential Washington activates him before Sunday's game at Dallas. In nine games for three teams this season, Slye has made 17 of 19 FGAs and 14 of 18 point-after tries.

McLaughlin will remain the Browns' kicker for Saturday's game against the Packers, Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal reports. "Chase is our kicker," Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday.

McLaughlin's slump won't cost him his job at this time. Speculation about a change has been ramping up the last several weeks, as the kicker made just four of nine field-goal attempts the last six weeks with all five misses coming from 40-to-49 yards. That includes a big miss Monday in a 16-14 loss to the Raiders. The Browns have Chris Naggar on the practice squad if Stefanski is compelled to make a change after Week 16.

Elliott made both of his field-goal tries and all three extra-point attempts in Tuesday's 27-17 win over Washington.

With the Philadelphia offense opting for a more run-heavy approach over the second half of the season, Elliott has seen more field-goal opportunities of late. He has made at least two field goals in five of his last seven games.

Houston placed Fairbairn on the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday.

According to Aaron Wilson of Sportstalk 790 Houston, linebacker Eric Wilson is the only unvaccinated player on the Texans roster, which means Fairbairn was placed on the list after testing positive for the virus. Fairbairn will thus have an outside chance of clearing the NFL's return-to-play COVID-19 protocol before Sunday's game against the Chargers, but if he can't play this week, Houston will have to sign an out-of-house replacement. The Texans don't have a kicker on their practice squad, as Fairbairn provided little reason for Houston to add competition since he's converted on all but one of his 10 extra-point tries and all but two of his 15 field-goal attempts over the last nine games.

Carolina placed Gonzalez (quadriceps) on injured reserve Wednesday, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports

Gonzalez is thus done for the regular season due to the quad injury he suffered during pregame warmups prior to Sunday's loss to the Bills. As a replacement for Gonzalez, the Panthers signed Lirim Hajrullahu off the Washington's practice squad. Alex Kessman will join Carolina's practice squad to give the team another placekicking option if Hajrullahu falters in his team debut Week 16 against the Buccaneers.

Gay connected on both of his field-goal kicks and both extra-point attempts during Tuesday's 20-10 win over Seattle.

Now that Gay is 28-for-29 on field-goal kicks for the campaign and leads the league in field-goal percentage, it's hard to overlook Gay's high-fantasy floor and respectable ceiling. Additionally, he's now hit at least two field goals and two extra points in each of the last four games, so Gay's also contributing when it matters most for fantasy managers.

Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski wouldn't answer when asked whether he was considering replacing McLaughlin as the team's kicker, Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal reports. "I am not going to get into any roster-type things like that," Stefanski said. "Chase understands that he has to make those kicks. He puts as much pressure on himself as anybody else. He wants to come through, and we are counting on him."

McLaughlin's missed 47-yard field-goal attempt proved costly in Monday's 16-14 loss to Las Vegas. The 25-year-old appeared to be the solution to the Browns' recent kicking woes early in the season, but cracks started to form Week 7. McLaughlin, who is with his sixth organization, has made 15 of 21 attempts, including just four of nine from 40-to-49 yards, with all the misses coming since Oct. 21.