Chicago is one of the NFL's most difficult cities for a kicker to properly navigate. Once again, Santos didn't experience significant issues handling the Windy City in 2025. During his nine home appearances, including the postseason, the 34-year-old missed only two field goals and no extra points. However, Santos made a mistake with a short kickoff in the season-opener that created an opening for the rival Minnesota Vikings to capture a victory. Plus, the veteran kicker missed two games with a quad injury.

The Patriots once again drafted a kicker in 2025 after the Chad Ryland experiment lasted one year—with a tenure by Joey Slye sandwiched between those two points. New England chose Borregales in the sixth round of last year's draft class. Borregales experienced his share of ups and downs, with five missed field goals during the regular season and a pair of missed extra points. The rookie did must two from distance against the Denver Broncos in the postseason, though the weather conditions weren't exactly favorable.

Slye has never been the most accurate kicker. He converted over 84 percent of his field-goal attempts only once in seven seasons, and that campaign included stints with three different teams. But the Titans leaned heavily on their kicker during a 2025 campaign because the team's offense failed to find a foothold. In fact, Slye's 14 attempts from beyond 50 yards were the league's second-most. Tennessee was starving for points, thus 40 percent of its kicker's total field-goal attempts had to come from long distance.

For the fourth straight season, Gonzalez is trying to establish himself as a long-term answer with a different team. He may have a difficult time doing so based on how well this year's competition, Riley Patterson, performed with the Dolphins last season. Still, the 31-year-old veteran brings extensive experience and didn't perform poorly with the Atlanta Falcons in 2025. Gonzalez stepped in to stabilize Atlanta's suspect kicking game, which saw the releases of Younghoe Koo and Parker Romo during the season. In nine appearances, Gonzalez converted 86.4 percent of his field-goal attempts, including 15 of 17 from 40 yards and beyond.

A quality kicker is vital when a team features the league's top-ranked scoring offense, as the Rams did last season. Matthew Stafford and Co. moved the ball. Joshua Karty failed to consistently convert, and the team released him in November. Thus, Mevis was provided with an opportunity. The 2024 undrafted free agent missed only one kick during his 12 appearances, including the postseason. Mevis could easily skyrocket up the list of kickers if he plays at a similar level for an entire season.

Cleveland drafted three different high-profile kickers between 2017 and '22 yet didn't find an answer at the position. The acquisition of veteran Dustin Hopkins didn't solve the issue, either. Szmyt might finally be the solution. He built a resume with the UFL's St. Louis Battlehawks before signing with the Browns late in the 2024 campaign. He beat out Hopkins during last year's training camp, then converted 24-of-27 field-goal attempts—including five of six from beyond 50 yards—and all but one extra-point attempt.

Baltimore used a sixth-round pick to acquire Loop. Anytime an organization invests draft capital in a specialist, it means a little more. To Loop's credit, he was nearly perfect inside 50 yards, with only one missed field-goal attempt. Unfortunately, that one miscue occurred at the worst possible time since his miss cost the Ravens a postseason appearance. Still, the rookie showed enough promise where one mistake shouldn't completely outweigh a promising first season.

McPherson experienced some highs and lows during the 2025 campaign. The 2021 fifth-round draft pick set a career-high with an 89.3 field goal percentage and booted a career-long of 63 yards. Conversely, he was under 63 percent from long distance and missed three extra points. McPherson does have a strong leg, and the Bengals won't stop pushing him to convert 50-plus yarders. However, the 27-year-old can do better since he's now missed 10 extra points during his five seasons—which includes one perfect season in 2023.

At one point, Butker was one of, if not the NFL's best kicker. The Chiefs specialist led the league in scoring for the 2019 season. During the '23 campaign, Butker set a career-high with 94.3 field-goal percentage and didn't miss an extra point. He's been far more erratic over the last two. The 31-year-old veteran missed nine field goals (six over 50 yards) and six extra points during those campaigns. Butker's salary-cap figure exceeds $7 million over the next three seasons. A return to form may be necessary, or the Chiefs could consider other options.

At 26 years old, Dicker is as steady as any NFL kicker. Through four seasons, he's the league's career leader in field goal percentage at 93.5. Technically, last year was his "worst" after converting only 92.7 percent—which still ranked second among kickers with at least 30 attempts. Since joining the Chargers, the 2022 undrafted free agent missed only three field-goal attempts inside 50 yards. Dicker isn't used in long distances as often as some other kickers. The 2024 campaign is the only where he tried 10 or more attempts from deep. Consistency within his short game is his superpower.

Despite playing in Denver, Lutz isn't a big bomber compared to the league's other kickers. He's only attempted 18 field goals of 50 yards or longer since the start of the 2023 campaign. For comparison, The Dallas Cowboys' Brandon Aubrey tried 17 just last season. To be fair, the Broncos have a quality offense under the supervision of Sean Payton. At the same time, Lutz is just under 67 percent from that distance during that stretch. After posting a 91.2 conversion rate two seasons ago, Lutz regressed slightly by missing four field goals in 2025.