NFL Player News

McLaughlin became an unrestricted free agent Wednesday after the Browns elected not to tender him a contract for 2022, Brandon Little of SI.com reports.

McLaughlin served as Cleveland's kicker during the 2021 campaign and made his first nine field-goal attempts of the season, but he went 6-for-12 on field goals down the stretch, with all six misses coming between 40 and 49 yards. The 25-year-old has already kicked for six NFL teams since going undrafted out of Illinois in 2019.

Syle received a one-year, $2.4 million tender from the Commanders on Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Slye appeared in six games for Washington last year and converted all 12 of his field-goal attempts while making nine of 10 extra-point tries. After spending time with three teams in 2021, the 25-year-old is the leading candidate to serve as the Commanders' kicker heading into 2022. He'll still face competition from Brian Johnson, whom Washington tendered earlier this week.

Pineiro, a restricted free agent, received a $2.43 million contract tender from the Jets on Wednesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Pineiro played well down the stretch for New York in 2021, converting all eight of his field-goal tries and all nine of his extra-point attempts. Granted, that sample size came in just five contests, but Pineiro's accuracy left the team with little need to explore an alternative answer at placekicker. While Matt Ammendola is also sticking with the Jets via a reserve/future contract, Pineiro appears to be the favorite to open the 2022 season as the team's kicker.

Gay, a restricted free agent, received an original-round tender from the Rams on Tuesday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

The Rams will now have the chance to match any offer sheet from another team, and Los Angeles would receive a fifth-round pick should it decide not to match. Gay was one of the top kickers in the game in 2021, as he made 32 of 34 field-goal attempts and went 48-for-49 on PATs.

The Falcons and Koo agreed to terms on a five-year, $24.25 million contract Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

After a rough start to his career with the Chargers in 2017 -- he made just three of six field-goal attempts and was cut after four games -- Koo was out of the NFL until the Falcons brought him on October 2019. Since then, he's been a modicum of consistency, striking true on 87 of 94 field-goal attempts and 78 of 82 point-after tries in 40 games. Instead of becoming a restricted free agent, Koo will stick in Atlanta for the foreseeable future.

Folk signed a two-year, $5 million contract to remain with the Patriots on Monday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Folk put together a consistent 2021 season, converting 36 of his 39 field-goal attempts and 42 of his 47 extra-point attempts. That was enough for the Patriots to commit to him for a pair of additional campaigns. Folk played through a knee injury for much of last year, but he otherwise has shown no signs of slowing down despite the fact that he will be 38 years old for half of the 2022 campaign.

Minnesota will tender Joseph at the right of first refusal number of $2.4 million, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The Vikings will have the right to match any offer made to Joseph by another team. The 27-year-old is coming off a career year, having converted 33 of 38 field-goal attempts and 36 of 40 field-goal tries across 17 games last season. He was successful on seven of nine attempts from 50-plus yards out.

Hopkins signed a three-year, $9 million extension with the Chargers on Sunday, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio reports.

Hopkins was let go by Washington midway through the 2021 season, but he latched on with the Chargers for the final 11 games of the year. During his time in Los Angeles, he converted 18 of 20 field-goal attempts and 30 of 32 extra-point tries. The 31-year-old will return to the team on a multi-year deal that includes $4.6 million of guaranteed money.

Zuerlein has been released by the Cowboys, Nick Eatman of the team's official site reports.

The Cowboys also announced Friday that tight end Blake Jarwin (hip) was waived/injured, with the moves freeing up cap space for the franchise leading up to free agency. Per Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News, Dallas now seems likely to replace Zuerlein -- who was approaching the final year of his contract -- with a more affordable option. In 16 games this past season, Zuerlein went 29-for-35 on field-goal attempts (82.9 percent) and 42-for-48 on extra-point tries (87.5 percent) en route to recording 129 points.

The Panthers re-signed Gonzalez (quadriceps) on Wednesday on a two-year, $4.5 million deal, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.

By the time the Panthers take the field again, Gonzalez will be well past the quad issue that sidelined him late last season. Prior to missing Carolina's final four games of 2021, Gonzalez made 20 of his 22 field-goal attempts and hit 22 of his 23 extra-point tries in 12 games. While retaining the 26-year-old provides Carolina with some welcome stability at the kicker position, Gonzalez's fantasy prospects in 2022 hinge on the overall efforts of the franchise's offense, a unit that will likely undergo some retooling this offseason.