The Detroit Lions have officially signed UFL kicker Jake Bates, but they also opted to make it just a two-kicker competition.
The Detroit Lions made the signing of former UFL kicker Jake Bates official on Tuesday, and with it came a corresponding move. The Lions announced that rookie kicker James Turner has been waived.
It’s not a surprise that the Lions are opting to only carry two kickers going into training camp, but their decision between cutting Turner or veteran Michael Badgley could have really gone either way. Badgley has been with the team for the past two seasons, and he made a couple of big kicks last year, including a key 54-yard field goal against the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. However, Turner made a big impression during OTAs and minicamp with his big leg, and solid accuracy during the practices that were open to the media.
One explanation for the Lions’ decision could be the type of kickers they want to compete. Last year, the Lions faced a very similar decision after trading for Riley Patterson. They had to choose the competitor between John Parker Romo and Michael Badgley. Patterson was a pretty similar kicker to Badgley, both with veteran experience and so-so strength. Romo was the wild card. Detroit opted to stick with the wild card so they could have two different types of kicker face-off.
“I have a lot of respect for Badge, but you know, we wanted to give another look at Patterson. We feel like they’re very similar type players, Badgley and Patterson,” Campbell said.
They would end up re-signing Badgley to the practice squad and giving him the full-time gig midseason after winning a behind-the-scenes competition during the year.
There is plenty of overlap between Turner’s and Bates’ games. Both are big-legged kickers with essentially zero NFL experience. Making the competition between those two may have been seen as a relatively big risk, considering Badgley has six years of NFL experience compared to their collective two.
Turner will hit the waiver wire, and if he is not claimed in 24 hours, he’ll be free to sign with any NFL team.