NFL Player News

Colts head coach Frank Reich said last week that Blankenship (hip) is the favorite to win the starting kicker job over Jake Verity, Kevin Hickey of USA Today reports.

Blankenship operated as the Colts' placekicker to start 2021, but he played just five games before being placed on IR with a hip injury, which ultimately ended his season. Michael Badgley replaced Blankenship last year, but he remains a free agent as Indianapolis signed Verity to provide competition to Blankenship during the offseason. Now healthy, Blankenship is poised to reclaim his starting gig. Across 21 career games, he's converted 43 of 51 field-goal attempts, with six of his eight misses coming from 40-plus yards.

Shudak won't practice Tuesday due to an undisclosed injury, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Wyatt relays that Shudak initially suffered the injury last week, but the severity of the issue remains unknown. The undrafted rookie out of Iowa went 24-for-28 on field-goal attempts during his final collegiate season, including 4-for-6 from 50-plus yards.

Brkic was claimed off waivers by the Packers on Monday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

The undrafted rookie out of Oklahoma will shift from Minnesota, who waived him Friday, to Green Bay after the latter cut kicker Dominik Eberle in a corresponding move Monday. As a result, Brkic will have a chance to establish himself as a potential long-term solution at kicker for the Packers, though Mason Crosby remains entrenched as the No. 1 option in Green Bay. Brkic converted 57 of his 69 field goal attempts over four years with the Sooners, including a long of 56 yards during his 2021 senior campaign, and was one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award handed out to the best kicker in college football.

Lutz (abdomen) announced Monday he has been cleared to return to game action, Rod Walker of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Lutz was forced to sit out the entire 2021 season after undergoing core-muscle surgery last August, and his absence as a steadfast presence was notable for New Orleans' offense. Getting Lutz back in action as the starting placekicker will be a notable boost for the Saints for the 2022 campaign.

The Vikings waived Brkic on Friday.

Brkic signed with the Vikings in May as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma and was expected to provide competition to the veteran Greg Joseph. After Brkic's release, Joseph is the only kicker on Minnesota's roster, but it's possible the Vikings opt to bring in another competitor for training camp.

Gano appears to have added to his special-teams skill set by practicing as a long snapper this offseason, Serena Burks of USA Today reports.

Gano's roster spot is already secure as the team's kicker after he converted better than 88 percent of his field-goal attempts for the fourth year in a row in 2021, but his ability to provide a possible backup option behind current Giants long snapper Casey Kreiter is a plus. The 35-year-old signed a three-year, $14 million contract just three months after joining the Giants in August 2020 and is currently the only kicker listed on the team's official roster.

Blankenship (hip) is expected to compete with Jake Verity for the Colts' kicking job during OTAs and training camp, Kevin Hickey of USA Today reports.

Blankenship has held Indianapolis' starting kicker duties over the past two seasons when healthy, but he played just five games in 2021 before being placed on injured reserve with a hip injury in November. He ultimately converted 11 of 14 field-goals attempts and missed one extra-point attempt in 2021. Blankenship was relatively consistent in his rookie season with the Colts, and if healthy, he'll be the favorite to retain the kicking job.

The Saints signed Romo as an undrafted free agent Friday, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com reports.

Romo made 18 of 22 field-goal attempts -- including seven of nine from beyond 40 yards -- and all 34 of his extra-point attempts during his final campaign at Virginia Tech. The UDFA kicker likely will serve as a backup plan to Wil Lutz, who is recovering from core-muscle surgery but still expected to be ready for the start of the 2022 season.

Wright was released by the Jaguars on Wednesday, John Reid of The Florida Times-Union reports.

The Jaguars cut Wright coming off a season in which he appeared in 14 contests and made 21 of 24 field-goal attempts. He took over for the released Josh Lambo in Week 4 last season and never relinquished kicker duties. However, with a new coaching staff in place of 2022, Wright apparently wasn't viewed as sufficient competition for Ryan Santoso and Andrew Mevis, who remain on hand as the Jaguars' kicking options.

Dicker, who signed with the Rams as undrafted free agent last Wednesday, has been listed as a punter by the team, Stu Jackson of the team's official site reports.

Dicker worked as a kicker and punter for the Texas Longhorns last season. Although successful as a kicker, he also averaged 46.8 yards per attempt on 47 punts last season, which was good enough for third best in the Big 12. Following the release of veteran Johnny Hekker this offseason, the Rams signed Riley Dixon, who had been serving as the Giants' punter before his own release. Dicker ultimately could provide competition to not only Dixon, but also returning kicker Matt Gay.