NFL Player News

The Buccaneers plan to replace kicker Rian Lindell with former kicker Connor Barth, reports FOX Sports.

Barth missed the 2013 season after suffering a torn Achilles in a charity basketball game in July. He was replaced by Lindell, who is a free agent this offseason.

Lindell was 23 of 29 on field goals in 2013 with 31 extra points. 

The four players who got franchised -- the Saints' Jimmy Graham, the Panthers' Greg Hardy, the Jets' Nick Folk and the Redskins' Brian Orakpo -- all received non-exclusive tags. That means they can sign offer sheets with any team.

However, the signing teams would have to give up two first-round draft picks if the tagging team decided not to match. It's highly unlikely any team would give up that much, even for superstars like Graham or Hardy.

Eight players received the franchise tag in 2013. This year, four players got franchised and two drew the transition tag, which had not been used since 2011.

Getting the franchise tag were Saints tight end Jimmy Graham, Jets kicker Nick Folk, Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy and Redskins outside linebacker Brian Orakpo. Browns center Alex Mack and Steelers outside linebacker Jason Worilds were designated as transition players. 

The deadline for tagging players passed at 4 p.m. ET.

With the 4 p.m. ET deadline approaching, only four teams have applied the franchise tag for 2014. The Saints tagged tight end Jimmy Graham, the Jets tagged kicker Nick Folk, the Panthers tagged defensive end Greg Hardy and the Redskins tagged outside linebacker Brian Orakpo.

Eight players received the franchise tag last year.

The Jets have placed the franchise tag on placekicker Nick Folk, the team announced Friday.

In 2013, Folk made a career-high 33 field goals on 36 attempts for a career-high 91.7 percent accuracy, including a perfect 3 for 3 on 50-yard tries. He also hit all 27 of his extra-point tries.

The Panthers have signed kicker Graham Gano to a four-year contract, the team announced Friday.

"The special teams unit was a large part of our success last year, and we are excited to keep Graham as a part of our team," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. "Graham has shown range and accuracy in his field goal kicking, and his strong leg has been a weapon for us on kickoffs."

In 2013, Gano played in all 16 games for Carolina, converting 24 of 27 field goal attempts to establish a career high with an 88.9 field goal percentage. Gano set a franchise record and tied for the NFL lead for the most made field goals of 50 yards or more with six. He was the only kicker in the NFL with more than three attempts from 50-plus yards without a miss from that distance.

Gano placed 76 of 82 kickoffs in the end zone with 63 touchbacks to lead the NFL with a 77.8 touchback percentage, the highest touchback percentage in the NFL since 1994.

The Saints signed kicker Shayne Graham to a one-year contract Saturday, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He will be paid the veteran minimum of $955,000, after signing with the Saints in december and playing in four games. 

Graham connected on both of his field-goal attempts in the regular season and 4 of 6 in the postseason, while making 10 extra-point attempts. 

Jets kicker Nick Folk, who is an unrestricted free agent, would like to return to the team, reports NJ.com.

"I think it’s just kind of going to be a little bit longer before anything happens there," Folk said of any movement on a new contract. "I want to keep all the options open, but, yeah, we've been there for four years now. We like it. I love playing for Rex (Ryan), and this year with [general manager John Idzik] was awesome, it was a lot of fun. It's a good, young group of guys. We really enjoy New Jersey/New York. We'd love to stay; I think they'd love to have us stay."

The Panthers could lose kicker Graham Gano to free agency this offseason, reports ESPN. 

Gano would like to return to Carolina, but the report said he will do what's best for his family financially. 

Nick Folk is coming off a career year -- he nailed 27 of 33 field goals -- and is set for free agency. But will the Jets pony up for him? ESPN notes the team typically does not extend rich deals to their kickers so it could mean he'll test the market. 

There are 12 teams with openings at kicker at this time.