Arizona Cardinals kicker Matt Prater will not be activated from injured reserve this week to play in the season finale against the San Francisco 49ers.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon was asked how close Prater is to playing on Friday. He said, “not close enough, I guess, because he’s not going to go (this week.”
That means Prater will finish the season on injured reserve and probably has already kicked for the last time for the Cardinals.
Prater is going to be a free agent in March and is 40 years old.
The man who replaced him after he injured his knee, Chad Ryland, is under contract through 2025. Since Prater did not return, which likely would have resulted in Ryland’s release, the Cardinals already have a kicker under contract. And Ryland has been pretty good. He has made three game-winning kicks and has made 26-of-30 field goals and 21-of-22 extra points. He was named a Pro Bowl alternate.
With all this, it would appear that the Cardinals will move forward with Ryland.
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