This week, the Detroit Lions made a change to their kicker competition, and it’s one fans were hoping for over the past two months. The Lions officially signed former Michigan Panthers kicker Jake Bates and waived undrafted rookie James Turner. That means when the Lions take the field in late July for training camp, it will be a two-kicker race: Bates vs. Michael Badgley.
Bates is the wild card of the competition. Having not kicked any field goals in college and only a single missed kick in high school, the sample size on the All-UFL kicker is incredibly small. That said, he took the spring league by storm, nailing a 64-yard game-winner at Ford Field in the opening weekend of the league. He finished the year by continuing to display that strong leg while also being reliable from under 50 yards.
But the Lions like Badgley a lot, too. He’s built in a lot of trust with six years of NFL kicking experience, and two of those seasons spent in Detroit.
So who will enter camp as the favorite? Who will ultimately win the job?
Over on our YouTube channel, we had a debate on the Lions’ kicker job. As always, Meko Scott and Morgan Cannon discussed the topic, but they also welcomed in Pride of Detroit special teams expert Hamza Baccouche to provide some insight into kicking, and how he thinks the position battle may play out in the preseason.
You can check out the entire discussion below, and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel so that you don’t miss a single Lions discussion.
