NFL Player News

McPherson has been fantastic at camp so far, making nearly every kick, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.

Given that the Bengals used a fifth-round pick to acquire McPherson, he was going to win most tiebreakers over Austin Seibert for the job, and his performance will only aid him in that effort.

Wright was waived by the Lions on Tuesday.

Wright inked a reserve/future contract with the Lions in January but will be let go after opening camp with the team. Zane Gonzalez was signed in a corresponding move to compete with Randy Bullock.

Special teams coordinator John Fassel said Tuesday that Zuerlein (back) has begun kicking individually as he aims to "be 100 percent" for Week 1 at Tampa Bay, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Fassel is of the belief Zuerlein will require "about three or four weeks" to get back to normal, which conveniently lands between the end of the preseason and start of the regular season. The veteran is easing into kicking after undergoing offseason surgery on his back, which is the latest in a history of such injuries. The Cowboys are confident in Zuerlein being available Week 1, considering they haven't rostered another kicker during training camp and instead have rolled out punter Hunter Niswander to handle placekicking.

Gonzalez has signed with the Lions.

In a corresponding move, the team waived Matthew Wright. Gonzalez is now in line to compete with Randy Bullock for the placekicking job, with the Lions in need of a replacement for Matt Prater after he signed with Arizona this offseason -- which is where Gonzalez kicked last year.

Maher is signing a contract with New Orleans on Monday, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com reports.

Maher will fill in for Will Lutz (abdomen) for the time being, though the Saints will probably also bring in additional kicking help. Lutz is set for core muscle surgery that could carry an 8-to-12-week recovery timetable, in which case New Orleans would need a replacement for a handful of regular-season games. Maher appeared in 29 games with the Cowboys from 2018-19.

Lutz will have core muscle surgery, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Previous reports hinted at a recovery timeline of 8-12 weeks, essentially ruling Lutz out through September. He played all 16 games in each of his first five NFL seasons, and the Saints haven't been carrying another kicker at training camp. They'll likely look at a bunch of kickers in the coming days.

Lutz suffered a core muscle injury during Saturday's practice, and he now may need a surgery that would lead to an absence of eight weeks or longer, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Amie Just of The New Orleans Times-Picayune suggests the recovery timeline could be closer to 12 weeks, with Lutz needing longer than most players because he's a specialist. Lutz played every game in each of his first five NFL seasons, but with the reliable 27-year-old in danger of missing the first half of the upcoming campaign, the Saints figure to look at multiple free-agent kickers.

Patterson (undisclosed) was activated from the PUP list Thursday, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Patterson missed most of spring drills with an undisclosed condition, but he recently passed a physical. He'll battle Greg Joseph for the starting job in Minnesota.

The Saints removed Lutz (groin) fom the non-football injury list ahead of Wednesday's practice, Amie Just of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

The Saints never expected Lutz to miss much time and didn't even bother signing another kicker while he was idle. The end of the Drew Brees era comes with some uncertainty, but Lutz is still a viable option at the end of fantasy drafts, as he's an accurate kicker who plays home games in a dome for what should be a competitive team.

Haubeil was waived by the Titans on Sunday, Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official site reports.

Haubeil was expected to compete to be the Titans' starting kicker during training camp, but he'll now be let go after the team claimed Sam Ficken off waivers Sunday. The Ohio State graduate signed with Tennessee as an undreafted free agent in May after he converted on 28 of his 35 field-goal attempts in college.