Chase McLaughlin

Packers Work Out Four Kickers

The Week 1 status of Packers kicker Mason Crosby is up in the air, and the organization is eyeing some free agents in case they need reinforcement. According to ProFootballNetwork.com’s Aaron Wilson, the Packers worked out kickers Matt Ammendola, Chase McLaughlin, Chandler Staton, and Parker White today (Twitter link). The team also auditioned punter Cameron Dicker.

Crosby underwent knee surgery during the offseason, landing him on the physically unable to perform list. The Packers haven’t said if the veteran will be ready to go for the start of the season, but today’s workouts indicate that the Packers are planning to roll without him.

The Packers recently signed Ramiz Ahmed to fill in for Crosby, and the Packers are likely considering a competition for that potential early-season work. Ammendola and McLaughlin are the two kickers with NFL experience; Ammendola connected on 68.4 percent of his field goal tries last year while McLaughlin converted 71.4 percent of his own.

Crosby had a down year in 2021, converting only 73.5 percent of his field goal attempts (his worst percentage since 2017). Still, the Packers legend has connected on 81.1 percent of his field goal tries throughout his 15-year career. While Green Bay may temporarily roster a second kicker to open the season, there’s a good chance that fill-in will be demoted to the practice squad once Crosby is back to full health.

Dicker, an undrafted rookie out of Texas, spent the early part of the preseason with the Rams. Pat O’Donnell was brought in this offseason to replace Corey Bojorquez as the starting punter, and there’s a good chance that the team is just preparing their contact list in case of an injury.

NFL Workouts: 7/29/22

Here’s a list of minor players who visited or worked out for an NFL team today:

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Commanders

Howard had recently also worked out for the Saints, along with Bo Scarbrough, according to Nick Underhill at New Orleans Football Network. Howard has bounced between Philadelphia and Miami with limited success since averaging 1,123 rushing yards per season and totaling 24 rushing touchdowns in his first three seasons with the Bears. Injuries and limited productivity have really hurt Howard’s success over the past three years.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/2/22

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

Browns Draft K Cade York At No. 124

The first kicker is off the board. The Browns used pick No. 124 to select LSU kicker Cade York.

Alongside Tennessee’s Cade Mays, York was considered to be one of the best kickers in the draft. The LSU product firmly established himself as an NFL prospect in 2021 after connecting on 15 of his 18 field goal attempts and all 39 of his extra point tries. This followed a 2020 campaign where York connected on 85.7 percent of his field goals and 100 percent of his extra points.

This is the highest a kicker has gone off the board since 2016, when the Buccaneers selected Roberto Aguayo in the second round.

The Browns relied mostly on Chase McLaughlin as their kicker in 2021. The 26-year-old saw time in 16 games, but he only connected on 71.4 percent of his field goal attempts (15 for 21). He did, however, make 36 of his 37 extra point tries. The Browns re-signed McLaughlin back in March, so a kicking competition is surely coming.

Browns Re-Sign K Chase McLaughlin

For the second day in a row, the Browns have made a move with respect to their special teams. The team announced on Tuesday that they have re-signed kicker Chase McLaughlin

[RELATED: Browns Sign P Bojorquez]

McLaughlin originally entered the league when he signed with the Bills as a UDFA in 2019. He actually made his debut with the Colts, however, spending four games in Indianapolis. That was followed by another four contests with the Chargers, and three with the 49ers to end a busy rookie campaign.

The soon-to-be 26-year-old then found himself kicking for two new teams in 2020. He was with the Jaguars for three games, and the Jets for one more that year. Between his five stops prior to Cleveland, he made 22 of 28 field goal attempts, good for a success rate of 78.6%.

In Cleveland (who was awarded the Illinois alum off waivers), McLaughlin spent a full season with one team for the first time in the pros. He had a down year compared to his career averages, though, making 15 of 21 field goals (71.4%). He did, on the other hand, make all four of his kicks from beyond 50 yards, and only missed one of 37 extra point attempts.

With McLaughlin back in the fold, the Browns’ kicking unit appears set. They already have long snapper Charley Hughlett under contract for one more season, and added punter Corey Bojorquez yesterday.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 12/30/21

Here are Thursday’s reserve/COVID-19 list updates:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

  • Activated from virus list: OL Cody Ford, CB Cam Lewis
  • Activated from practice squad virus list: TE Quintin Morris

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Placed on practice squad virus list: LB Omari Cobb

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFL COVID List Updates: 12/24/21

We’ve compiled a list of players who were placed on or activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list today. In some instances, players activated from the list remain on IR:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: S Chuck Clark, C Trystan Colon
  • Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: RB Nate McCrary
  • Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: QB Chris Streveler

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DB Jordan Fuller, TE Tyler Higbee
  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Cole Williamson

Miami Dolphins

  • Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: RB Gerrid Doaks

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Travis Homer
  • Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: OL Pier-Olivier Lestage

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Browns Claim Chase McLaughlin

The Browns have added some more competition for Cody Parkey. Cleveland was awarded Chase McLaughlin off waivers from the Jets, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

The Jets had claimed McLaughlin off waivers themselves from the Jaguars last December. He’s already bounced around a remarkable portion of the league considering he only entered the NFL as an UDFA in 2019. Despite playing just two seasons, McLaughlin has already spent time with the Bills, Vikings, Chargers, 49ers, Colts, Vikings (again), Jaguars, Jets, and now Browns.

He’s now played for a fourth of the league, and only just turned 25. Most of those stints were obviously short, and a few were just on the practice squad or during the preseason. As far as regular season action goes, McLaughlin kicked in a few games for the Colts, Chargers, and 49ers all in 2019. He then kicked in three for the Jags last year and one for the Jets.

In his career, the Illinois product is 22/28 on field goals and 31/32 on extra points. Parkey was solid but not spectacular in his first year in Cleveland in 2020, making 19 of 22 field goals and 43 of 47 extra points. The Browns never even had him attempt one from beyond 50 yards. They also currently have Matthew McCrane on the offseason roster.

Jets Cut WR Josh Doctson

The Jets are doing some spring cleaning. On Friday, the Jets released six players from their offseason roster, including wide receiver Josh Doctson. Meanwhile, they also welcomed 12 new undrafted free agents. Here’s the full rundown:

Released:

Signed:

Doctson, a former first-round pick of the WFT, joined the Jets in February as a street free agent. In August, he exercised his right to opt out, tolling his one-year pact to 2021. While Doctson did not deliver on Washington’s investment, he did post multiple 500-plus-yard seasons from 2017-18 and profiled as a somewhat interesting candidate to factor into the Jets’ wideout mix last season. Now, he’ll seek employment elsewhere.

Jets Claim K Chase McLaughlin, DL Trevon Coley

The Jets have made a pair of waiver claims. Brian Costello of the New York Post reports (via Twitter) that the team has claimed kicker Chase McLaughlin off waivers from the Jaguars and defensive lineman Trevon Coley off waivers from the Cardinals.

The McLaughlin move probably means incumbent kicker Sergio Castillo has lost his job…which isn’t overly surprising considering he missed three field goals during the Jets’ loss to the Seahawks yesterday. Plus, starting kicker Sam Ficken is set to return to practice this week after missing several weeks due to a groin injury.

McLaughlin will replace Castillo as Ficken’s temporary replacement. This will be the eighth team for McLaughlin since he went undrafted during the 2019 draft. The 24-year-old has appeared in 14 career games, connecting on 22 of his 28 field goals and 29 of his 30 extra point tries. He appeared in three games for Jacksonville this season, making four of his five field goal attempts.

Coley, 26, was waived by the Cardinals last week. The defensive lineman saw time in six games (two starts) for Arizona this season, collecting 14 tackles and one sack. Coley appeared in 31 games for the Browns during his first two seasons in the league, compiling 80 tackles and 2.5 sacks.