shocking revelation: Former Lions K James turned down a three-year, $30 million contract from the Green Bay Packers.

shocking revelation: Former Lions K James turned down a three-year, $30 million contract from the Green Bay Packers.

James Turner, an undrafted rookie kicker, was cut by the Detroit Lions on Tuesday, but they could see him again soon. Turner was given to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, as per the official transaction wire, after their waiver claim. At least 24 clubs passed on Turner since waiver wire priority is currently based on previous year’s results, with Green Bay having the 25th highest priority.

After an outstanding UFL season, Detroit decided to remove Turner in order to make room for former Michigan Panthers kicker Jake Bates. It’s hardly shocking that the Packers, who were apparently interested in signing Bates, ended up with a second-hand kicker instead of Bates.

Nevertheless, throughout OTAs and minicamp with the Lions, Turner undoubtedly shown some potential. The former Michigan Wolverine demonstrated his leg strength by successfully making many kicks from 55 to 60 yards out with extra space. Turner will go up against seasoned players Greg Joseph and Anders Carlson in Green Bay.

Bates will compete with Michael Badgley, the kicker from the previous season, for the starting position when the Lions report to training camp. We had a roundtable meeting earlier this week to debate who we thought would win the tournament. To put it briefly, Bates is a greater wild card than others since he has never kicked a field goal in college or high school, even if he may have a far higher upside. In the meanwhile, Badgley has kicked 24 out of 28 times with the Lions in the last two seasons. In his six years in the NFL, he has an 82.4 percent accuracy rate, with 56 out of 58 field goals made at 39 yards or less.