Cardinals' Matt Prater: Back with Arizona on two-year deal
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Prater agreed Tuesday with the Cardinals on a two-year contract, Bob McManaman of The Arizona Republic reports.
The 2023 campaign will be Prater's age-39 season. He missed four games to injury last year but otherwise hadn't missed a contest since 2014 with the Lions. Prater made 22 of 25 field-goal attempts and 17 of 18 extra-point tries last season. He still has one of the stronger legs in the sport.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Misses PAT in finale
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Prater did not attempt a field goal and missed one of two extra-point tries in Sunday's 38-13 loss to the 49ers.
Prater's missed PAT was his only this season. The veteran also made 22 of his 25 field-goal attempts, proving fairly accurate despite a struggling Arizona offense limiting his opportunities. In missing four games due to a hip injury as well, Prater's 83 total points ranked 30th among kickers league-wide. The 38-year-old is now slated to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Heavily involved in Week 17
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Prater went 4-for-5 on field-goal tries and made his only PAT attempt in Sunday's 20-19 loss to the Falcons.
Prater was busy again Sunday, making multiple field goals for the fourth consecutive game. The 38-year-old was able to convert a 38-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 36-yarder in each of the second and third quarters before later adding a 57-yard boot in the final period. His only miss came late in the third when he sailed a 43-yard try wide left. Prater has gone 12-for-14 on field-goal attempts over the last four contests, raising his season total to 22 makes over 25 tries while appearing in 12 games.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Busy in Week 16
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Prater went 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts and made his only PAT try in Sunday's 19-16 overtime loss to the Buccaneers.
Prater was busy for a second consecutive week Sunday, making a 56-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 53-yarder in the second quarter. He later added a third field goal from 39 yards in the fourth quarter while also recording a PAT in the final period of regulation. Prater has now attempted three field goals in three consecutive games, going 8-for-9 over that stretch, including four makes from over 50 yards. Arizona has a plus matchup in Week 17 against Atlanta, giving the kicker another opportunity to be heavily involved on New Year's Day.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Makes three FGs in Week 15
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Prater made all three of his field-goal attempts and didn't attempt a PAT in Sunday's 24-15 loss to Denver.
Prater was effective from deep in the Colorado altitude, making kicks of 45, 50 and 55 yards. The Cardinals went for two after their only touchdown, and opportunities could be scarce moving forward, as Arizona could be down to third-string quarterback Trace McSorley if Colt McCoy (concussion) joins Kyler Murray (knee) on the sidelines.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Nets six points in Week 12
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Prater made one of two field-goal attempts and all three point-after tries in Sunday's 25-24 defeat to the Chargers.
Prior to Week 12, Prater was perfect on his 19 combined FGAs and PATs this season, so his miss from 49 yards out at the end of the Cardinals' first possession of the second half proved telling in a one-point loss. With the modest six-point effort, he amazingly upped his points per game on the campaign from 5.3 to 5.4, leaving him on the outside looking in at fantasy relevance.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Nails both kicks Monday
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Prater made his only field-goal attempt and only point-after try during Monday's 38-10 loss to the 49ers.
Prater was back in action after sitting out Week 10 due to an illness, but a Cardinals offense led by backup quarterback Colt McCoy wasn't able to generate many scoring opportunities. Even when No. 1 QB Kyler Murray was healthy in Prater's six other appearances this season, though, the kicker attempted just eight FGAs and nine PATs. With an average of 5.3 points per game on the campaign, Prater ranks 29th in the NFL among placekickers with at least as many showings (seven) as he's managed.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Puts in full practice Thursday
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Prater (hip/illness) practiced fully Thursday, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.
Prater has been tending to a hip injury since Week 4 that sidelined him Weeks 5-7. He was able to handle scoring chances Week 8 before taking on all kicking duties Week 9, but an illness forced him to miss another contest this past Sunday at the Rams. The Cardinals signaled Prater's relative health when they waived his Week 10 replacement Tuesday, and indeed the former was back in full capacity to start Week 11 prep. Prater thus is set to be the team's kicker Monday against the 49ers in Mexico City.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Won't play Week 10
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Arizona downgraded Prater (hip/illness) from questionable to out in advance of Sunday's game against the Rams, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Though Prater took the questionable designation into the weekend, his absence for the Week 10 game appeared to be a foregone conclusion after he didn't travel with the Cardinals to Los Angeles on Saturday. With Prater sidelined for the fourth time in six games on account of the right hip issue, the Cardinals have elevated Tristan Vizcaino from the practice squad to handle kicking duties this weekend.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Doesn't travel with team
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Prater (hip/illness) did not travel with the Cardinals to Los Angeles on Saturday, but he remains questionable for Sunday's game against the Rams, Howard Balzer of SI.com reports.
In addition to his hip issue, Prater has also been dealing with an illness. If he's feeling better, Balzer reports that Prater will travel on his own to Los Angeles in time for Arizona's Week 10 matchup. However, the team also signed Tristan Vizcaino on Saturday as insurance in case Prater is unable to suit up.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Questionable to face Rams
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Prater (hip/illness) didn't practice Friday and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Rams, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Prater missed Weeks 5 through 7 with the hip injury and has been limited in practice ever since, but his absence Friday seems to be on account of the ailment, which is ill-timed at the end of the week. If the Cardinals are truly concerned about Prater's availability for Sunday, they'll need to sign another kicker Friday or Saturday.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Another limited showing
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Prater (hip) practiced on a limited basis Thursday.
As has been the norm for Prater the last three weeks, he's operating with a cap on his practice reps as he manages a right hip injury that forced him to sit out Weeks 5-7. Assuming the Cardinals remove his designation for a second straight week Friday, he'll be set to handle all kicking duties for the team Sunday at the Rams.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Stays limited by hip issue
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Prater (hip) was a limited participant at Wednesday's walk-through session, Kevin Parrish Jr. of the Cardinals' official site reports.
It's no surprise that Prater continues to show up on Arizona practice reports after sitting out Weeks 5 through 7 due to a right hip injury. When available this season, he's been accurate, making all eight field-goal attempts and all nine point-after tries in six appearances, but that amounts to a measly 5.5 points per game. Assuming he gets rid of his designation by week's end, Prater will be looking to replicate his best performance of the season from Week 4, when he hit all four of his field-goal tries against Sunday's opponent, the Rams, in that contest.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Hits all three PATs on Sunday
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Prater nailed all three point-after tries during Sunday's 31-21 loss to the Seahawks.
One week removed from handling just placekicking duties while Rodrigo Blankenship (undisclosed) was a kickoff specialist, Prater took on all kicking for the Cardinals on Sunday with the former off the team via an injury settlement. Still, Prater's production continues to be lacking, as his 5.5 points per game ranks 27th in the NFL for kickers to have made at least six appearances this season.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Set for all kicking duties Sunday
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Prater (hip) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's contest versus the Seahawks, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Despite the Cards and coach Kliff Kingsbury signaling Prater was ready to resume all kicking duties for the team by cutting Rodrigo Blankenship (undisclosed) on Wednesday, Prater was limited in every practice during Week 9 prep. But Friday's injury report cleared Prater of a designation, so he'll suit up and handle kickoffs in addition to placekicking duties Sunday. On the campaign, he's averaging a measly 6.0 points in his five appearances.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Remains limited by hip
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Prater (hip) was a limited participant at Wednesday's walk-through session, Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com reports.
Prater's limited activity follows comments from head coach Kliff Kingsbury earlier Wednesday indicating that the 38-year-old was fully cleared for all kicking duties moving forward. That likely will be the case Sunday versus the Seahawks and beyond, especially after the Cardinals waived Rodrigo Blankenship (undisclosed) with an injury settlement earlier Wednesday. However, Prater's activity level now will be watched as the weekend approaches to see if he can add kickoffs to his placekicking.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Full go moving forward
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Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Wednesday that Prater (hip) is set to handle all placekicking and kickoff duties for the Cardinals moving forward, Jose M. Romero of The Arizona Republic reports.
The Cardinals signaled as much when they waived Rodrigo Blankenship (undisclosed) via an injury settlement earlier Wednesday. In his return to action this past Sunday at Minnesota, Prater took on both field-goal attempts and point-after tries, while Blankenship handled kickoffs. With the latter out of the picture, Prater is good to go for kickoffs Sunday against the Seahawks and beyond.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Perfect in return to action
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Prater made both field-goal attempts and both point-after tries during Sunday's 34-26 loss at Minnesota.
In his return to action following a three-game absence due to a sore right hip, Prater remained perfect on the season, as he's hit true on 14 combined FGAs and PATs. Overall, though, he's averaging just 6.0 points in his five appearances, which ranks 29th among kickers to have played at least that many games in 2022. In any case, Prater appears to have staved off Rodrigo Blankenship for scoring chances, though the latter may hold on to kickoff duties until the former is healthy enough to handle them.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Questionable for Sunday
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Prater (hip) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game in Minnesota, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
The veteran kicker managed limited practices throughout the week after missing Arizona's last three games. If he's declared inactive before the 1:00 ET kickoff Sunday, the Cardinals will again turn to Rodrigo Blankenship as their placekicker. Coach Kliff Kingsbury mentioned earlier in the week that both kickers might be active if Prater is healthy enough to play, with Blankenship then handling kickoffs while Prater would take care of field goals and extra points.
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Cardinals' Matt Prater: Logs another limited session
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Prater (hip) was limited during Thursday's practice, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Prater has been sidelined during each of the team's last three contests due to a hip issue, and his Week 8 availability remains in question following his limited session Thursday. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Wednesday that the veteran kicker might only attempt field goals and extra-point tries if he's eventually cleared to play Sunday against the Vikings, whereas Rodrigo Blankenship would handle kickoffs, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. However, Friday's practice/injury report should provide further clarification whether Prater will be able to suit up this weekend or not.
