Getty The Detroit Lions are looking to add another kicker to the fold. Currently, their sole healthy kicker is Jake Bates.
The Detroit Lions started out the preseason deciding between two kickers: Michael Badgley and Jake Bates. But, after Badgley suffered a torn hamstring, Bates appeared in all three preseason games. Now, Bates is the sole kicker on the teams’ initial 53-man roster.
Lions executive vice president and general manager Brad Holmes and assistant general manager Ray Agnew conducted their annual post-training press conference on August 29, and they spoke about the team’s kicker situation. While they said Bates has earned his spot on the active roster, they’re still looking at “adding another kicker” to the practice squad.
GM Brad Holmes Talks Jake Bates, Adding a New Kicker
During the press conference, Holmes said he was impressed by how Bates bounced back during preseason games when things weren’t looking good on the field.
“The main thing regardless of what you say about accuracy and all that stuff, if he does miss one, it doesn’t affect him,” Holmes said. “It doesn’t bother him. That was a good trait that Badgley has, as well, so being he has that and he has a physical component and he’s gotten these reps in training camp, let’s just see how far it can go.”
Then, Holmes said the Lions were still looking for some help in the kicker department, which makes sense, with Badgley out for the season and Bates being the team’s sole kicker at the moment.
“We’ll still look at adding another kicker to the practice squad,” Holmes said. “Got to have a little bit more experience, but I think (Bates) earned (the role) to give it a shot.”
Jake Bates Has a ‘Big Leg’
Holmes also discussed Bates’ athleticism and said the kicker is “wired” the right way.
“We all know the ability that he has. He’s got a big leg,” Holmes said. “One thing about kickers is you have to be wired a certain way and we learned early on that he’s wired right. I thought that’s one of the smartest moves that we did make is when we had (Michael) Badgley go down, we did not bring another kicker in. We brought a handful of guys in for the work out, but we said ‘look, let’s just let this kid get every single rep possible.’ He did get better and he’s continuing to get better.”
Bates, who played for the UFL’s Michigan Panthers, finished the preseason 6-of-7 on field goals and 3-of-4 on extra points. His preseason field goal percentage was 85.7%.
Brad Holmes on Lions’ WR Roster
Elsewhere in the press conference, Holmes spoke about why he has confidence in the team’s receiver room.
“I’d have a lot less confidence if we did not have an elite player (St. Brown) leading that one position, if we did not have Jameson Williams, if we did not have Kalif Raymond, and that’s one piece of the offense,” Holmes said. “I’d have less confidence in the remaining people in the receiver room if we did not have a quarterback with two tackles, two guards, the center, the tight end, the two running backs. I would have less confidence, but because it’s completely (a) team effort, I still have confidence.”
Anne Erickson Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter covering the NFL and college football for Heavy.com. Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson
