Bills add ex-Jaguars' kicker as injury insurance for playoff game in Jacksonville

The Buffalo Bills are covering all of their bases when it comes to the kicking game ahead of their January 11 wild-card road test against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Bills have officially added veteran kicker Matthew Wright to the practice squad after veteran Matt Prater was forced to leave midway through the January 4 regular season finale due to a quad injury flare up.

Wright, who has kicked in games for eight different NFL teams since entering the league in 2019, tried out for the Bills last month when Prater suffered his initial injury. Buffalo, however, chose to sign Michael Badgley instead.

In order to make room for Wright, the Bills released offensive tackle Richard Gouraige from the practice squad on Tuesday.

Preparing for Sunday

The obvious preference is to have Prater handle the kicking duties in Jacksonville, but there's a decent possibility he won't be ready.

After missing two games due to the injury, Prater returned to game action against the New York Jets in Week 18. He made his first three PAT attempts, but he was unable to continue after halftime. Buffalo finished out the 35-8 win by assigning punter Mitch Wishnowsky to kickoff duty and attempting two-point conversions after their two second-half touchdowns.

With Prater day to day, according to Bills' head coach Sean McDermott, the team has Wright ready to go on standby.

Nov 30, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Buffalo Bills place kicker Matt Prater (15) kicks a field goal during the second quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

"Kind of work with two plans, one where [Prater] he's able to go come Sunday, and one where he's perhaps not able to go," said McDermott.

More about Wright

Wright has totaled a combined four appearances with three different teams this season.

The 29-year-old journeyman most recently kicked for the Houston Texans, filling in for an injured Ka'imi Fairburn in Weeks 10 and 11. Coincidentally, Fairburn returned for the November 20 matchup against the Bills. Wright made all four field goal attempts and went 2-of-2 on PATs during the two-game stint.

The Bills visit the Jaguars this week for the first time since a forgettable 9-6 loss in 2021, when none other than Wright was kicking for Jacksonville. He made 3 of 4 field goals, accounting for all of the Jaguars' points that day. In 14 games that season, Wright connected on 21 of 24 three-point tries for Jacksonville.

For his career, Wright has converted field goals at an 88.2 percent clip. He has connected on 60 field goals and 45 extra points over 33 games.

— Sign up for OnSI’s Free Buffalo Bills Newsletter —

More Buffalo Bills News:

Rushing champion James Cook's backup finishes as NFL leader, too

Two Bills' veterans turn Highmark Stadium farewell into six-figure paydays

Josh Allen’s early Week 18 exit ends his NFL record TD streak

Bills give Keon Coleman chance to climb out of doghouse, WR active vs. Jets