How the Dolphins Kicking Change Might Be the First Step for Struggling Special Teams

The Miami Dolphins special teams have been a mess all season, and now they've made a significant change.

The question is how much impact it will wind up having.

The team is making a switch with the kicker position, with reports indicating that Riley Patterson has been released and veteran Zane Gonzalez will be joining the practice squad after a tryout that included longtime star Justin Tucker.

Gonzalez returns to Miami after being involved in a training camp battle with Patterson that ended when Gonzalez sustained an injury prior to the practice at Hard Rock Stadium in early August that led to him being placed on injured reserve.

Per NFL rules, the Dolphins were prohibited from re-signing Gonzalez after releasing him from IR with an injury settlement for a period of time of three games plus the number of games equivalent to that settlement.

Patterson missed three kicks in the first five games this season, two field goals and an extra-point attempt in the team's most recent game, the 31-24 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium. Patterson also was penalized in that game for a kickoff short of the landing zone, though the Dolphins caught a break when Cincinnati was flagged for a roughness penalty on that play.

This comes after a 2025 season when Patterson barely missed, setting a single-season franchise record for field goal accuracy by making 27 of 29 kicks.

Patterson's 2025 performance in relief of veteran Jason Sanders made it almost strange that the Dolphins would sign Gonzalez as a free agent this offseason right before they re-signed Patterson.

TUCKER AN EYE-OPENER

That the Dolphins included Tucker in their workout group definitely is interesting.

He was good enough for long enough to put himself in the conversation as maybe the greatest kicker in NFL history before a sub-par performance for the Baltimore Ravens in 2024.

That wasn't the main issue with Tucker, though.

Tucker was out of the NFL in 2025, but he was suspended by the league for 10 games for violating the league's personal conduct policy after he was accused by 16 massage therapists of inappropriate sexual behavior and misconduct, though he never was formally charged with any crime and he denied the allegations.

Tucker did have a tryout with the New Orleans Saints last November, but hasn't kicked in an NFL game since 2024.

HOW MUCH CAN GONZALEZ HELP?

The hope is that the kicker switch will help, but it's just one element for a special teams unit that's been among the team's many issues so far in 2026.

Of particular concern has been the kickoff coverage, where the Dolphins have allowed an NFL-high 34.1 yards per return, exactly 5 yards more than any other team.

Whether Patterson's kickoffs played a role in the kicking coverage issues is debatable, but it's less likely to be a major factor with the new rules where the defenders and blockers can't move until the kickoff is fielded.

Head coach Jeff Hafley, however, did say the call was for Patterson to put some kickoffs into the end zone after the Dolphins allowed that 81-yard return to open the Cincinnati game, but that wasn't executed properly.

At this point, any change on special teams should be welcome and maybe the kicker switch will serve as a message that nobody's job is safe.

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