Tag: Matthew Wright

Report: 49ers add new kicker to practice squad

With Jake Moody dealing with an injury, the 49ers have reportedly added another kicker to their practice squad.

With a pair of injured kickers, the San Francisco 49ers were in search of an option at kicker with the start of the new season looming. With Zane Gonzalez on the IR and rookie Jake Moody nursing a quad injury, the 49ers reportedly added a new kicker to the practice squad on Thursday.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the 49ers are signing Matthew Wright to the practice squad. Wright spent training camp with the Carolina Panthers. Wright has kicked for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs.

Via @AdamSchefter on Twitter:

Despite Wright’s addition, 49ers general manager John Lynch recently told reporters that Moody is tracking to be ready for week one. Along with providing an insurance policy if Moody isn’t ready for week one, Wright should be able to provide some insight into kicking at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium. Wright kicked in seven games for the Steelers in his career.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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Panthers waive 11 players on Saturday

The first wave of this weekend’s cutdown tsunami has crashed for the Panthers.

On Saturday, the Carolina Panthers began the trek towards their initial 53-man roster—waiving a total of 11 players.

Those players are as follows:

  • QB Jake Luton
  • RB Camerun Peoples
  • WR Gary Jennings
  • WR C.J. Saunders
  • OT Larnel Coleman
  • DT Antwuan Jackson
  • LB Bumper Pool
  • S Collin Duncan
  • S Josh Thomas
  • CB Rejzohn Wright
  • K Matthew Wright

The most notable name of the bunch is, perhaps, Luton. A former sixth-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Luton completed eight of his 19 throws for 115 yards, a touchdown and an interception over two preseason outings.

But given the current state of Carolina’s quarterbacks room—with rookie Bryce Young as the starter, veteran Andy Dalton as the backup and Matt Corral barely holding on as the No. 3 option—the cut of Luton was not a surprise in the least.

He and the 10 other players who were waived by Carolina will now hit the waiver wire and can be claimed by another team on Wednesday. If they are not, they will become free agents and could return to the Panthers as part of their practice squad.

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Eddy Piñeiro ready to return after ‘little groin strain’

Panthers K Eddy Piñeiro pulled a John Fogerty in his plea to play in Friday night’s preseason finale.

Will Eddy be ready for Week 1? He seems to think so.

Carolina Panthers kicker Eddy Piñeiro, who has been sidelined this preseason with a groin injury, spoke to reporters following Wednesday’s practice. When asked about how he’s coming along, the 27-year-old expressed some confidence.

“I’m feeling great,” he said. “Just had like a little groin strain at the beginning of camp. But I feel amazing now. Just being careful with the whole situation.”

After a standout 2022 campaign, one where he booted through 33 of his 35 field goal tries and 30 of his 32 extra point attempts, Piñeiro signed a new two-year deal with the Panthers this April. Since sustaining the groin injury, however, he has given way to recent free-agent addition Matthew Wright—who has converted on each of his three kicks this preseason.

But even with a steady plan to return and a steady replacement in his position, Piñeiro is ready to get back as soon as Friday.

“I think it would be great,” he replied when asked of playing in the final exhibition outing. “I feel like I have some good game experience. But, obviously, it’s good to be out there and have some guys rush at you and try to block your kick and mentally get going. I would love it. I would love it.

“But again, I leave it up to him [Frank Reich]. Put me in Coach. I’m ready.”

Ah. Well, perhaps we can just call him . . . Ready Piñeiro.

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Panthers sign K Matthew Wright

With Eddy Piñeiro dealing with a groin injury, the Panthers have signed K Matthew Wright.

“Steady” Eddy Piñeiro has been feeling, well, a bit unsteady of late. So, the Carolina Panthers did something about it on Tuesday.

With Piñeiro currently dealing with a groin injury, the team signed kicker Matthew Wright. Per the team’s official announcement from reporter Darin Gantt, Piñeiro may not be able to participate in preseason play this summer.

Wright, 27, broke into the pros as undrafted free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019. But it wouldn’t be until 2020, and after a short stint with the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers, that the University of Central Florida product kicked in an official NFL game.

He has since played three seasons in the league, also picking up stops with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021 and splitting his 2022 campaign between the Kansas City Chiefs and Steelers. Wright has converted on 40 of his 46 career field goal tries and 35 of his 37 extra point attempts.

To make room for Wright’s addition, the Panthers waived rookie offensive tackle BJ Wilson.

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Chiefs re-sign WR Jerrion Ealy to practice squad, release K Matthew Wright

The #Chiefs have re-signed WR Jerrion Ealy to the practice squad and released K Matthew Wright.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a practice squad transaction to kick off the week following the AFC Championship Game.

According to the NFL’s personnel notice, the Chiefs have again re-signed WR Jerrion Ealy to the practice squad. As I mentioned when the team last released him on Saturday, Ealy’s transaction history is getting a little C.J. Spiller-esque. It’s clear that the team wants to continue developing him, but he also seems to be the easiest play to drop from the practice squad and re-sign at any given time. His latest return to the practice squad comes after injuries struck the wide receiver position in Kansas City during the AFC title game.

In a corresponding move, the Chiefs released backup K Matthew Wright from the practice squad. This was his second stint in Kansas City after re-signing with the team ahead of Week 18 when Butker popped up as questionable with a back injury.

In his two games kicking for the Chiefs this season, Wright was practically perfect, going 8-for-8 on extra points and 3-for-4 on field goals. Wright actually held the franchise record for the longest field goal for a week before Butker returned and set the record.

It seems that after Butker’s game-winning kick in the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs have a bit more confidence in the veteran’s ability and chose to cut Wright loose.

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Chiefs elevate two players from practice squad for Week 18 vs. Raiders

The #Chiefs have officially elevated two players from the practice squad for Week 18’s game vs. the #Raiders.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a pair of practice squad elevations ahead of their Week 18 away game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

With Skyy Moore ruled out and Mecole Hardman expected to be on a pitch count in Week 18, the first order of business for the Chiefs was shoring up their wide receiver group. As a result, the Chiefs have elevated WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette from the practice squad via standard elevation. This is the second time that Smith-Marsette has been elevated this season. In his first game against the Denver Broncos in Week 14, Smith-Marsette played three offensive snaps and no snaps on special teams. He recorded no official statistics in that game.

In another expected move, the Chiefs officially elevated K Matthew Wright to the 53-man roster via standard elevation. Wright was in for a tryout on Thursday and signed with the practice squad on Friday. This doesn’t mean for certain that he’ll play in place of Harrison Butker, who is questionable for Week 18 with back spasms. Wright simply provides the team with a suitable backup plan if Butker is unable to go.

Wright is 15-of-15 on extra points this season and has made 83.3% of his field goal attempts, including a 59-yarder for the Chiefs against the Raiders back in Week 5.

Another note from the personnel notice: LB Justin Hilliard was the player released to make room for Wright on the practice squad.

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Chiefs to sign K Matthew Wright to practice squad

With Harrison Butker dealing with back spasms, the #Chiefs are adding K Matthew Wright to the practice squad.

Kansas City Chiefs K Harrison Butker’s status is questionable for the team’s Week 18 tilt with the Las Vegas Raiders. As a result, the team brought in a familiar face — Matthew Wright — for a tryout on Thursday. Now, they’re set to officially sign Matthew Wright to the practice squad.

As first reported by ESPN’s Field Yates, the Chiefs are adding Wright to the practice squad. He kicked in two games for Kansas City and four games in Pittsburgh this season, with a perfect 15-of-15 record on extra points and an 83.3% record on field goals (15-of-18) during that span.

One of Wright’s two games with the Chiefs was Week 5 against the Raiders. He held the franchise distance record for one week with a 59-yard field goal made in that game. He stands to face that opponent again in Week 18 should he be elevated to the 53-man roster.

It’s not yet clear who the Chiefs will release from the practice squad to make room for Wright. It’s possible that Jerrion Ealy, who was released to make room for LB Justin Hilliard, could be released again.

Expect the team to use a standard elevation on Wright this afternoon in order to have him available as insurance for Butker on game day. It’s not a guarantee that Wright will be needed, but the team has made it clear this week that it’s an instance where you’d rather be safe than sorry.

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Chiefs hosted K Matthew Wright for tryout on Thursday

The #Chiefs hosted K Matthew Wright for a tryout on Thursday with K Harrison Butker questionable for Week 18 due to a back injury.

With Kansas City Chiefs K Harrison Butker having back spasms pop up during practice this week, the team hosted a familiar face on a tryout.

Matthew Wright — who kicked for the Chiefs for two games (Week 4-5) when Butker was injured earlier this season — was in Kansas City for a tryout on Thursday. Wright was the team’s second backup kicker (third if you count Justin Reid) after Matt Ammendola struggled in Butker’s absence. In his two games kicking for the Chiefs, Wright was nearly perfect, going 8-for-8 on extra points and 3-for-4 on field goals.

Wright was signed from the Chiefs’ practice squad by the Steelers in early November. He was released from Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster in early December once their starting kicker Chris Boswell returned from injury. With the Steelers, Wright was a perfect 7-of-7 on extra points and 12-of-14 on field goal attempts.

The Chiefs have not yet signed Wright to the 53-man roster or practice squad, but with Harrison Butker listed as questionable in Week 18, this is an appropriate measure to take. They can sign Wright to the practice squad tomorrow and promote him to the 53-man roster via standard elevation if need be.

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Jaguars’ Riley Patterson named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week

For a third straight week, a Jaguars player earned AFC Player of the Week honors.

Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Riley Patterson is the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after scoring 13 points in a 19-3 win over the New York Jets.

Patterson made four field goals and an extra point in the win, although he did miss a 44-yard field goal just before halftime.

The Jaguars struggled to find a kicker in August and added Patterson after preseason when he was waived by the Detroit Lions. Patterson quickly won the starting job in Jacksonville and has been a relatively reliable player for the team.

Patterson has made 27 of his 32 field goal attempts and all but one of his 31 extra point tries. Patterson is eighth in the NFL this season in points scored with 111.

It’s the third straight week that the Jaguars were represented on the AFC Players of the Week. Two weeks ago, Trevor Lawrence earned the honor for the second time this season and last week Rayshawn Jenkins was recognized for his 18-tackle, two-interception day.

Last year, Jaguars kicker Matthew Wright won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after making three field goals, including 54- and 53-yarders to beat the Miami Dolphins.

Chiefs K Matthew Wright predicted Harrison Butker would break field goal record in Week 6

#Chiefs K Harrison Butker revealed that Matthew Wright predicted he’d break his 59-yard field goal record in Week 6. | from @EdEastonJr

The return of Harrison Butker last Sunday brought back a sense of normalcy to special teams for the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6.

Butker immediately showed he was healthy by connecting on two of three field goal attempts, including the franchise record-setting 62-yard kick in the first half. Butker’s replacement for Week 4 and Week 5, Matthew Wright, set the franchise record against the Raiders. He held it for just a week before the former’s return.

Wright performed admirably in Butker’s absence, but he handed over the reins in Week 6. Butker revealed during Wednesday’s press conference, that after the Week 5 game, Wright made a prediction that his record wouldn’t last long.

“Yeah. It’s funny,” Butker began. “After the game, Tommy (Townsend) told Matt (Wright), ‘You should keep that ball that you made the 59-yard field goal with – get it painted – Chiefs record.’ And Matt said – funny enough – to him, ‘Oh, I’m not going to get that because Butker’s going to break it the next week.’ So, it kind of came true, and I was able to break that record, but it is funny. A lot of guys were saying to me about Matthew breaking the record in basically his second game here.”

Wright had bounced around with several teams since going undrafted in 2019. He quickly made an impression during his few weeks of service and was a motivation for Butker to return to the top of his game. Butker didn’t know if he’d have a chance to top the record in Week 7, but when the opportunity struck, he made the most of it.

“As a kicker, you can only do as best as you can with the opportunities you’re given, right? So, ‘Oh Matthew Wright broke the record,’ I can’t force (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Dave) Toub or (Head Coach Andy) Reid to put me out there for a longer field goal – that’s just kind of what the game provided me,” Butker said. “Tommy and James (Winchester) did a great job, and I was able to go hit it.”

For the Chiefs’ sake, hopefully, Butker will remain healthy this season and Wright won’t have a chance to retake the record.

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