The Buffalo Bills will kick off the regular season against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night. The teams last met in the Divisional Round of the playoffs when Buffalo outlasted Baltimore in a narrow 27-25 victory. For Sunday’s game, the Bills will be without their long-time kicker after placing Tyler Bass on injured reserve.
With Bass out, Buffalo will turn to Matt Prater. The Bills have elevated the former Pro Bowl kicker from the practice squad, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The 19th-year veteran will kick against the Ravens in the opener Sunday night.
Bass has been a durable player for the Bills since joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2020. But the 28 year old dealt with a lingering pelvic injury over the offseason. The team decided to place him on IR, meaning he’ll be sidelined for at least the first four games of the season. Week 1’s battle with Baltimore will be the first game Bass missed in his five-year career.
Bills hand kicking duties to 41-year-old Matt Prater in opener
The Bills signed Caden Davis in early August as insurance while Bass continued to deal with his injury. However, the team chose to waive the 24-year-old kicker two weeks later. Instead, Buffalo will go with a (vastly) more experienced specialist.
At 41 years and 28 days, Prater is the third-oldest player in the NFL this season, per FOX Sports. He trails only Aaron Rodgers and Chicago Bears tight end Marcedes Lewis. Prater began his career in 2007. After two games with the Atlanta Falcons, he joined the Denver Broncos and spent the next six seasons with the team. Prater signed with the Detroit Lions in 2015 and remained with the franchise for seven seasons. He spent the last four years with the Arizona Cardinals.
In 2024, Prater suffered a knee injury and was limited to four games. It was the fewest games he’s played in a season since his rookie year in 2007. Now fully healthy, Prater will have an opportunity to showcase his kicking game while Bass is out. The earliest the Bills’ veteran can return is Week 5, when Buffalo hosts the New England Patriots.
The Bills dealt with other significant injuries during the preseason. Wideouts Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman were both banged up ahead of the opener. Shakir has since returned to practice in full. And while Coleman was limited with a groin strain on Buffalo’s initial injury report, the second-year wideout isn’t concerned about missing the game.
