Examining the Kicker Options After the Sanders Release

The Miami Dolphins made a financial decision when they released veteran kicker Jason Sanders on Friday, and it made sense given their salary-cap situation.

But the flip side is that the move left them without a kicker under contract for the 2026 season.

Riley Patterson, who set a franchise single-season record for field goal accuracy in 2025 when he went 27-for-29 while Sanders spent the whole year on injured reserve, would seem like a slam-dunk choice for Miami next season, but he will become an unrestricted free agent Wednesday.

And while the Dolphins logically will — and should — try to re-sign him after his fabulous 2025 season, the reality is that he could draw some interest around the league.

There were six teams in the NFL last year — the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions — that had a field goal percentage under 80 percent, and maybe one or more of them might like the idea of adding Patterson, who hit at a 93.1 percent clip for the Dolphins.

The Rams and Lions likely are out of the kicker market after re-signing Harrison Mevis and Jake Bates, respectively, this offseason.

Sanders was scheduled to make $4.25 million in 2026, hardly a wild amount for a kicker. That salary would have ranked 13th in the NFL.

Given their cap situation, the Dolphins ideally would like to go on the cheap for a kicker, so the question becomes exactly what Patterson could get on the market after his brilliant 2025 season.

OTHER KICKER OPTIONS

So if not Patterson or Sanders, who kicks for the Dolphins in 2026?

Well, we could start with two of the three kickers that Patterson beat out in the tryout to repalce Sanders last season, Zane Gonzalez and Eddy Pineiro.

Gonzalez is coming off a solid season as a replacement for the Atlanta Falcons, convering 19 of 22 attempts, including a 7-for-9 showing from 50 yards and beyond.

Pineiro was even better after he hooked up with the San Francisco 49ers, leading the NFL in field goal percentage at 96.6 by going 28-for-29.

Both of them are pending UFAs.

What should be remembered first and foremost with the Dolphins this offseason is that this is an organization in reset mode, where the 2026 season will be more about establishing a foundation and a culture under new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley than trying to find pieces for an immediate championship run.

That means that the idea of spending big money — or even moderate money — on a field goal kicker doesn't seem logical or likely.

Among the other pending UFA kickers are Daniel Carlson of the Raiders, Nick Folk of the New York Jets, Blake Gillikin of the Arizona Cardinals, Joey Slye of the Tennessee Titans and Matt Prater of the Buffalo Bills.

Carlson made more than Sanders last season, so he seems like a long shot, and Folk and Prater both are on the wrong side of 40 years old, so Gillikin or Slye would make more sense here.

Or perhaps the Dolphins will wait until the draft and either spend a late-round pick on a promising prospect or go the undrafted rookie free agent route.

One last possibility is that maybe Sanders can't find another team, and he and the Dolphins find a middle ground that they couldn't reach this week after it was reported the Dolphins wanted to restructure (read: cut) his contract.

ideally, the Dolphins end up with either Sanders or Patterson given the quality kicking they got the past two seasons, but there will be options if that can't be done.