The Detroit Lions have a question mark at the kicker position. After starting out camp with a competition between Michael Badgley and Jake Bates, it is now a one-man show after Badgley suffered a season-ending injury.
While Bates was a star in the UFL, he has never played in a regular-season game in the NFL, which is a totally different animal. Adding to the concerns about him, the Lions kicker has struggled at points in training camp.
But things are starting to turn around for him. Bates crushed his first preseason field goal attempt from 53 yards last week, and he drilled a 64-yarder in practice on Sunday that had plenty of room to spare.
And he continued building on those positive moments in practice on Monday, per Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com, who notes that Bates made all of his extra points and field goals in the session.
Jake Bates seems to be settling into Detroit's kicker role nicely.
It started with a 53-yard field goal in the preseason opener in rainy conditions in New Jersey last Thursday. On Sunday, Bates ended practice by making a 64-yarder with room to spare. During Monday night's practice he was perfect on all field goal attempts and extra point tries, hitting field goals from 33, 39 and 42 yards.
After a little bit of a rocky start to camp, Bates has been really good the last few days.
With Bates being the only kicker on the roster in the wake of Badgley's injury, that has allowed him to get more work, something special teams coordinator Dave Fipp believes is helping. And, the opportunity for more work is part of the reason why Detroit hasn't brought anyone else in.
"The thing you want with any young player is to get them repetition," Fipp said. "That's really what most of them need. A lot of positions can't do that, but the kicker is the only one you sort of can."
“It’s terrible that Badgley’s not here, but in a way for (Bates) it’s helped because it’s increased his workload," he added. "And that was part of the decision not to bring someone else in.”
Bates no doubt has the leg, but now he's got to prove he can be consistent. If he can do that, the Lions will have a real weapon at the kicker position in 2024.