Anders Carlson makes quick return to the NFL

After kicking in the San Francisco 49ers' past two games, Anders Carlson might kick for the New York Jets on Sunday.

The 49ers released Carlson on Tuesday with regular kicker Jake Moody ready to return from an ankle injury. San Francisco had used the former Auburn kicker as a practice-squad elevation for two contests.

On Friday, the Jets released kicker Riley Patterson and signed Carlson for their practice squad. Either Carlson or Spencer Shrader will kick for New York when it plays the Arizona Cardinals at 3:25 p.m. CST Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

After making 35-of-38 field-goal attempts last season for the Jets, Greg Zuerlein went 9-of-15 in New York's first eight games this season. The misses included a potential game-winner from 50 yards in the closing seconds of a 10-9 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sept. 29 and misfires from 32 and 43 yards in a 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 14.

The Jets placed Zuerlein on injured reserve with a left knee injury on Oct. 30 after he had missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt and an extra-point try in a 25-22 loss to the New England Patriots in New York's previous game.

The Jets signed Patterson and Shrader for the practice squad and used Patterson the next day in a 21-13 victory over the Houston Texans on Oct. 31. Patterson made his three kicks – all extra points. Houston returned four kickoffs for 106 yards after New York's opponents had returned five kickoffs for 111 yards in the first eight games.

As a practice-squad elevation, Carlson made all five of his field-goal attempts and 3-of-4 extra-point tries while kicking for San Francisco in a 28-18 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 20 and 30-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 27. Carlson made a career-long 55-yard field goal against Kansas City.

When he signed with San Francisco, Carlson had been a free agent since Aug. 27, when the Green Bay Packers released him after he served as the team's kicker in the 2023 season.

Carlson joined the Packers as a sixth-round selection from Auburn in the 2023 NFL Draft. He displaced 16-year veteran Mason Crosby as Green Bay's kicker and became the first rookie in league history to make a field goal in 17 regular-season games. But with the playoffs included, he also had the most misses on extra points with six and on total kicks with 13 in the NFL in 2023.

In his first NFL season, Carlson made 27-of-33 field-goal attempts and 34-of-39 extra-point tries in the regular season and 2-of-3 field-goal attempts and 7-of-8 extra-point tries in two postseason games.

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In 2024, Green Bay had an offseason/training camp/preseason kicking competition between Carlson and Greg Joseph, who had been the Minnesota Vikings' kicker for the previous three seasons. But when the time came to set the regular-season roster, the Packers cut Carlson and Joseph and claimed Brayden Narveson after he had been waived by the Tennessee Titans. Narveson has since been replaced by veteran Brandon McManus.

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