Las Vegas Raiders 2026 Kicker Options

The Las Vegas Raiders extended P AJ Cole this off-season and chose to delay their extension for kicker Daniel Carlson who was coming off a rather down season where he converted 34 of 40 field goals good for 85% with 23/25 on PATs. This season, Carlson is just 15/19 (78.9%) not counting a missed FG vs the Browns while also being 12/13 on PATs. Carlson is having a down season in terms of his PAT and Field Goal rate while also being just 3/6 on 50+ yard conversions. Carlson has been a sold kicker for the Raiders since his 2018 season including back to back All Pro honors in 2021 and 2022. At a career 87% on field goals and Carlson struggling to convert from 50+ yards the look for another kicker could be in the cards this offseason for Las Vegas.

Along with Carlson, the other notable kickers to hit free agency this off-season include Jets Nick Folk, Cardinals Chad Ryland, Riley Patterson, Eddy Pinerio. Folk has been a solid veteran for his career and at 41 years old would be a good stop gap option with his career 85% FG rate and 97% on PAT including 100% this season on field goals along with being 6/6 on 50+ yard attempts. Ryland a former standout at Eastern Michigan has posted a career 78.9% FG rate and 97% on PAT. After an initial struggle early on going 64% as a rookie he’s converted 85% this season including 2/4 from 50+ though likely wouldn’t be an upgrade off Carlson.

Dolphins kicker Riley Patterson is just 86% on his career for field goals but is converting 89.5% this season though his main struggle has been from 50+ where he’s 4/11 on his career. Pinerio initially started his career with the Raiders as the former Florida standout signed with the Raiders as a UDFA in 2018. Pinerio is 89.9% on his career for field goals including 22/22 in 2025 and he’s 90.5% on PAT which has been his largest struggle. Pinerio has a strong leg including a career 59 yard field goal and is 17/20 on 50+ yard attempts. Being sub 95% on PAT is a concern, but Pinerio’s strong leg and accuracy as a field goal kicker could net him a good contract at just 31 years old and he’d likely be an upgrade for the Raiders.

This draft class doesn’t hold any notable kickers though there’s four top options going into the season with BYU’s Will Ferrin, Hawaii’s Kansei Matsuzawa, UCon’s Chris Freman, and Florida’s Trey Smack. Smack is the most likely to see his name called during the draft going 82% on FG (51/62) in his career and 100% on PAT (96/96) he holds a strong leg with the ability to complete TB and good yardage on kickoff’s as well. Ferrin has converted 85% of his FG (55/65) and 99% of his PAT (114/115) though the concern has come from his ability to consistently hit from 50+ where he’s converted just a career long of 52 yards. Matsuzawa has been a breakout player this season going 100% on FG (23/23) and 100% on PAT (34/34) though his career long of 52 yards is a concern as well. Freeman has struggled previously in his career going just 30/40 in 2023 and 2025 but he converted 78/79 of his PAT’s during that span. This season he’s taken a stride going 23/25 on FG and 51/51 on PAT including a 55 yarder and 6/6 on 50+ attempts. Freeman may not hear his name called but he’s worth a shot as a UDFA and has a good chance to stick in the NFL.

Iowa’s Will Stevens and Michigan’s Dom Zvada have been headline names but both have struggled this off-season but would be worth looks as UDFA’s due to their leg strength.

The NFL has seen Ryan Bates and Brandon Aubrey come over from the UFL and they are seemingly the top 2 kickers currently in the NFL. Teams will look to follow that trend with Rodrigo Blankenship as the top option where he’s converted 21/22 of FG last season with a long of 56 yards which lead the UFL. The former NFL kicker went a career 57/56 on FG and 54/58 on PAT, so the history is there for his success to translate. The CFL has a different kicking situation than the NFL but has seen some players translate to the NFL with the current notables being Jose Maltos (58/65, 58 long), Lirim Harjullahu (57/64, 56 long), and Sergio Castillo (48/56, 63 long). Consistency is the toughest to project with CFL to NFL kickers but with the advanced leg strength there’s a chance for some to translate.

The Raiders signed veteran kicker Greg Joseph to the practice squad during this season amid the struggles from Carlson. Joseph is a career 82.3% field goal kicker and 90.8 on PATs so the numbers aren’t in his best interest while also being just 17/30 on 50+ yard field goal attempts. Joseph saw majority of his success early in his career in 2018-2019 where he converted 50/58 on field goals and 70/78 on PAT for an 86% and 90% conversion rates. Joseph ideally isn’t a teams starting kicker and has been used recently in spot start situations for injuries or struggling kickers to end the season. The Raiders can upgrade over Daniel Carlson this off-season but Greg Joseph likely wouldn’t do that.