The Detroit Lions’ kicker competition on Day 3 of training camp practice has been eliminated. While preparing for Thursday’s practice, Michael Badgley reportedly tore his hamstring. As a result, he underwent surgery, which will keep him out of the game for the whole season.
Thus, for the time being at least, Jake Bates is the only healthy kicker on the Lions’ roster. Being the only player to kick during practice, he made the most of his chance on Thursday, making all six of his field goals. We now see why Badgley refrained from kicking.
Although some kickers have already visited for a workout, head coach Dan Campbell stated that “we’re not in a hurry” to sign a player. Naturally, he did not identify those kickers by name.
Bates has a lot more work to do. He had not kicked a field goal since high school until he started kicking for the Panthers in the UFL. According to Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News, Campbell mentioned that although they’ll try their hardest to put Bates in stressful situations during camp, he is pleased with what he has seen thus far.
Who the Lions end up signing to replace Badgley will say everything about the level of competition Bates will face for the job. There aren’t a ton of options out there at this point, so the current timing, well before other teams make many roster cuts, isn’t ideal in that regard.
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