The Miami Dolphins turned over the vast majority of their roster this offseason, which meant that entering training camp, a lot of starting jobs were up for grabs. That is still the case, as there are a couple more weeks until Week 1 arrives, but it looks like the Dolphins have closed the competition at one of their more sneaky important positions.
That would be the kicker position, where Riley Patterson and Zane Gonzalez were dueling for the job. Gonzalez was recently placed on injured reserve, which ended his season and effectively made Patterson the winner of this gig. However, Miami has now made another roster move involving Gonzalez that has only further solidified its position on Patterson.
Dolphins Release Zane Gonzalez From Injured Reserve
A seventh-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Gonzalez has bounced around the league during his eight years in the pros. He has kicked for five different teams so far in his career, with his most recent stint seeing him latch on with the Atlanta Falcons last year amid their attempt to find a proper replacement for Younghoe Koo.
Gonzalez was the most consistent option the Falcons found, as he hit 19 of his 22 field goal attempts and missed only one extra point attempt. Still, the team opted to move on from him, instead bringing in the 41-year-old Nick Folk to replace him. The Dolphins took this as an opportunity to add some competition and scooped up Gonzalez over the offseason.
Considering how productive Patterson was for Miami last year (27/29 FGM, 34/35 XPM), it was always going to be tough for Gonzalez to steal his job from him. Seeing him land on injured reserve indicated that Patterson had won the competition by default, but instead, he has been released by the team entirely, allowing him to latch on with another team if it were to come calling.
“Dolphins released veteran K Zane Gonzalez,” Adam Schefter of ESPN reported in a post on X.
Dolphins Moving Forward With Riley Patterson as Their Kicker
GettyWith the release of Zane Gonzalez, the Dolphins have made it clear that they are sticking with Riley Patterson at the kicker position for the time being
Had Gonzalez stayed on injured reserve, he would have been out for the year, so by getting released, he will now have an opportunity to play again in 2026. That won’t happen with the Dolphins, who are committed to Patterson for the time being, but kicker jobs open in the NFL more frequently than expected, so if Gonzalez can get healthy from whatever injury he is dealing with, he should be a contender to help a team with a need at the kicker position this season.
The Dolphins will be happy to have sorted out one position battle on their roster, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done before training camp wraps up. After suffering a 20-7 defeat in their preseason opener against the Washington Commanders, Miami will attempt to put a better effort together in its second preseason contest, which will take place on Saturday against the New York Giants.
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