Saturday’s training camp practice took the Detroit Lions to Ford Field for the first time in 2021. And while it was a positive experience for most of the Lions and for the fans in attendance on the team’s Family Day, one position group struggled.
The kickers.
Replacing Matt Prater is not going to be easy. Veteran Randy Bullock, signed as a free agent this offseason, remains the odds-on favorite to win the gig, but Bullock did himself no favors with his erratic display in Ford Field. He missed both kicks from 50 yards or beyond and neither appeared particularly close.
Coach Dan Campbell chalked it up to just a bad day for Bullock in his post-practice press conference.
“Bullock has been kicking it well to this point. He had a rough one today,” Campbell said. “Now, let’s see how we correct it. It’s not going to be a knee-jerk reaction from me right now. I mean, it’s way too soon to do that. But certainly, he’d be the first one to tell you he needs to kick better.“
About the only saving grace for Bullock is that his camp competitor, Matthew Wright, also missed both his attempts from distance. Both kickers fared well at the practice facility turf outdoors this week, but range is an issue; Bullock has made just nine of his last 15 attempts beyond 48 yards, dating back to 2017 with the Bengals. Wright has never made a successful kick beyond 50 yards in a game, not even in college.
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