Detroit Lions (first stint) Prater was signed by the
Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2006. He made field goals of 22, 44, and 48 yards in a preseason game against the
Cleveland Browns, but had little chance of beating out veteran incumbent
Jason Hanson and was subsequently released August 27. He spent the rest of the season as a
free agent, but did have workouts with the
Green Bay Packers and
Minnesota Vikings.
Miami Dolphins (first stint) Prater was signed to a future deal by the
Miami Dolphins on January 11, 2007. He was released by the team on August 27, as veteran
Jay Feely won the job.
Atlanta Falcons Shortly thereafter, Prater signed a contract with the
Atlanta Falcons and beat out
Billy Cundiff for the job. Including the Falcons' preseason finale, Prater missed at least one field goal in three games played with the Falcons. Prater missed two field goals against the
Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2 and was cut on September 18. The Falcons signed
Morten Andersen as his replacement.
Miami Dolphins (second stint) The Dolphins signed Prater to their
practice squad on November 15, 2007.
Denver Broncos 2007 The
Denver Broncos signed Prater off the Dolphins' practice squad on December 19, 2007.
2008 Prater became the starting kicker for the Denver Broncos, replacing
Jason Elam who signed with the Falcons. The Broncos had waived
Garrett Hartley on July 21, 2008, leaving Prater as the only kicker on the Denver roster going into their first preseason game against the
Houston Texans. On September 28, 2008, Prater made a 56-yard field goal late in the first half of the Broncos' loss at the
Kansas City Chiefs, which was the third longest field goal in team history and the longest away from Denver. He made two field goals of more than 50 yards during the game. On October 5, 2008, Prater converted three out of three field goals, including a 55-yarder, as part of a 16–13 Broncos home win over the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also recorded four
touchbacks out of five
kickoffs. His performance during the game led to him being named
American Football Conference (AFC)
Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 5 of the
2008 NFL season. Prater won the award for the first time in his career. Despite completing five of six field goals from beyond 50 yards on the season, he was only 25-of-34 overall (73.5%), making him one of the most inaccurate kickers in the league for the season.
2009 in 2009 Prater improved in the 2009 season converting all 32 extra point attempts and 30-of-35 field goal attempts. In Week 12, he converted two extra points and all four field goal attempts against the
New York Giants in the 26–6 victory. His performance earned him his second AFC Special Teams Player of the Week nomination.
2010 On March 9, 2010, the Broncos re-signed Prater to a new contract. On December 23, 2010, Prater was put on injury reserve by the Broncos after suffering a right groin injury. Overall, he finished the 2010 season having converted 28-of-29 extra point attempts and 16-of-18 field goal attempts.
2011 On July 29, 2011, Prater re-signed with the Broncos. At 3:00 am August 2, Prater was arrested and charged with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident at a hotel while in the company of a female employee of Shotgun Willie's, a local Glendale strip club. On December 11, 2011, in a game against the
Chicago Bears, Prater kicked a 59-yard field goal with three seconds remaining to tie the game. He then followed up by kicking a 51-yard field goal to win the game in overtime, 13–10. The performance earned his third career Special Teams Player of the Week nomination. Overall, he finished the 2011 season converting all 30 extra point attempts to go along with 19-of-25 field goal attempts.
2012 On July 2, 2012, Prater re-signed with the Broncos on a four-year contract after the Broncos placed a franchise tag on him. In Week 4, against the
Oakland Raiders, he converted four extra point attempts and three field goal attempts to earn AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. On the 2012 season, he converted all 55 extra point attempts to go along with 26-of-32 field goal attempts.
2013 On October 6, 2013, when the Broncos faced the
Dallas Cowboys, with a 48–48 score with two seconds left in regulation, Prater kicked the game-winning 28 yard field goal, to allow a Broncos 51–48 victory, as Denver went 5–0 for the first time since
2009. On December 8, Prater set a new
NFL record by successfully kicking a 64-yard field goal against the
Tennessee Titans as time expired in the first half. Prater also set a new NFL record for
extra points in a single season, with 75. He earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the performance. In the
AFC Championship against the
New England Patriots, he converted all four field goal attempts in the 26–16 victory. He appeared in his first
Super Bowl in the following game, a 43–8 loss to the
Seattle Seahawks.
2014 Prater began the season with a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. On October 3, 2014, Prater was released by the Broncos after they decided to stick with his replacement
Brandon McManus.
Detroit Lions (second stint) in 2014
2014 On October 7, 2014, the Lions signed him to a one-year deal. Prater was Detroit's third kicker in only a little over a month after
Nate Freese and
Alex Henery had struggles in the kicking game. In Prater's debut as a Lion, he only made one of three attempts on a rather windy day at
TCF Bank Stadium, but the Lions still got the win over the Vikings. Two weeks later, Prater missed a game-winning 43 yard field goal against the Falcons in London, but due to a delay of game penalty on Detroit, was allowed to re-kick from 48 yards out from which he converted, winning the game for the Lions. He finished the year converting 21 field goals on 26 attempts.
2015 On March 6, 2015, the Lions re-signed Prater to a three-year, $9 million contract extension. In a game against the Chicago Bears, Prater kicked a 37-yard field goal in overtime to win the game, 37–34. In a game against the Chicago Bears on January 3, 2016, Prater made a 59-yard field goal, which set a Detroit Lions franchise record for the longest field goal. Overall, on the 2015 season, he finished with converting 36-of-39 extra point attempts and 22-of-24 field goal attempts.
2016 Prater was named
National Football Conference (NFC) Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 9 when he converted three field goal attempts, including a 58-yard attempt with 0:02 left to send the game into overtime, where the Lions would beat the Vikings. Prater was also named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 12 when he converted the game tying and game winning attempts to beat the Vikings in the final two minutes. To cap off his performances, Prater won NFC Special Teams Player of the Month going 8-for-8 on field goals with two over 50 yards. He once again earned Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 13 when he made five field goals, including a 52-yarder, in a 28–13 win over the Saints. Prater was named to his second
Pro Bowl as an alternate for Falcons kicker
Matt Bryant after the 2016 season. He finished the 2016 season converting 31-of-33 extra point attempts to go along with 31-of-36 field goal attempts.
2017 In Week 1, Prater had to take over punting duties after
Kasey Redfern left with an injury early in the game. He kicked a 58-yard field goal, went 2-for-2 on extra points and punted four times with an average of 35 yards in a 35–23 win over the
Arizona Cardinals, earning him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Prater was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September after making all six of his field goal attempts, including four conversions from 55 yards and longer. This gave Prater an NFL record seven straight field goals of 55 yards or longer without a miss, going back to 2016. Prater had also converted 14 consecutive 50+ yard field goals going back to the previous season, which is also an NFL record. Both streaks ended when Prater missed on a 59-yard attempt the following week against the Vikings. On October 25, 2017, Prater signed a three-year contract extension with the Lions. Overall, he finished the 2017 season converting 40-of-41 extra point attempts to go along with 30-of-35 field goal attempts as the Lions went 9–7. Against the Packers at Lambeau Field, Prater threw a 14-yard touchdown to
Levine Toilolo on a fake field goal attempt. He added a field goal and four extra points in a 31–0 win over the Packers, earning him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. He finished the 2018 season converting all 30 extra point attempts to go along with 28-of-32 field goal attempts as the Lions went 6–10.
2019 In the 2019 season, Prater finished 35 of 36 on extra point attempts and 26 of 31 on field goal attempts as the Lions went 3–12–1.
2020 in 2020 In Week 3 against the Cardinals, Prater finished the game with two extra points and four field goals made, including the game winner during the 26–23 win. He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Week 3. In Week 10 against the
Washington Football Team, Prater kicked a 59-yard field goal as time expired to win the game 30–27, earning his second NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors of the season. On January 3, 2021, Prater set the new NFL record for most career field goals of 50 yards or more. In the 2020 season, Prater converted 21-of-28 field goal attempts and 38-of-41 extra point attempts.
Arizona Cardinals 2021 On March 17, 2021, Prater signed with the Cardinals on a two–year deal. On September 26, 2021, on the last play of the first half against the Jaguars, Prater attempted to break his record 64 yard field goal from 2013 with a wouldbe record 68 yard field goal, but the kick fell short and was returned 109 yards for a touchdown by
Jamal Agnew. Later that day,
Baltimore Ravens kicker
Justin Tucker broke Prater's record with a game winning 66 yard field goal on the last play of the Ravens' game against the Lions. In Week 6, Prater made three field goals and all four extra points in a 37–14 win against the Browns. For his performance he was awarded NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. In Week 17, Prater connected on all four field goal attempts and one extra point, accounting for 13 points, in a 25–22 win over the Cowboys, earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. in the 2021 season, Prater converted 30 of 37 field-goal attempts and 47 of 49 extra point attempts.
2022 In the 2022 season, Prater converted 22 of 25 field goal attempts and 17 of 18 extra point attempts in 13 games.
2023 Prater agreed to a two-year contract extension on March 14, 2023. In Week 3, Prater was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after converting a 62-yard field goal at the end of the first half against the Cowboys. In Week 18, against the Seattle Seahawks, Prater missed 2 field goals, one from 43 with three minutes left in the 4th quarter, and a missed 50 yard game winning field goal at the end of regulation. As a result, Seattle won the game 21–20. In the 2023 season, he converted 28 of 33 field goal attempts and 22 of 23 extra point attempts in 17 games.
2024 Prater suffered a
torn meniscus in his plant leg ahead of week 5 in the 2024 season. He was replaced in that week's game and in week 6 by
Chad Ryland before being placed on injured reserve on October 15, 2024.
Buffalo Bills in 2025 On September 4, 2025, Prater was signed to the
Buffalo Bills' practice squad after an injury to
Tyler Bass. Three days later, on September 7, Prater made all three field goal attempts, including the 32-yard game-winning kick to help the Bills beat the
Baltimore Ravens 41–40 as time expired. He was signed to the active roster on September 9. In the 2025 season, Prater appeared in 15 games. converted 46 of 49 extra point attempts and 18 of 20 field goal attempts. ==Career statistics==