The defending NFC North champion Detroit Lions were within a half of making the first Super Bowl in franchise history. Nearly all the key pieces from that 12-5 team return. GM Brad Holmes and his crew prominently addressed the two biggest weaknesses that held back the 2023 Lions: the pass coverage and pass rush.
It is a season full of boundless potential in Detroit. Yet all teams have some vulnerabilities, and next up in the series of potential pitfalls to the 2024 Lions season is arguably the biggest potential weakness on the entire roster.
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The kicker.
It’s certainly the most unproven spot on the Lions team. Wildly inexperienced Jake Bates won the role when record-setting holdover Michael Badgley was lost for the year with a hamstring injury.
Bates came to prominence with the UFL’s Michigan Panthers, who play their home dates in Ford Field. He hammered home the longest field goal in that building’s history in the Panthers’ opener in the spring of 2024.
The new kicker comes as a complete greenhorn. Bates didn’t kick field goals or extra points in college, starting out as a soccer player at Central Arkansas before handling kickoffs only at Texas State and Arkansas. The 64-yarder was the first successful field goal in Bates’ career at any level.
Bates’ inexperience has shown throughout the summer. He’s had some very good days in practice, no doubt about it. He also finished the summer season making just 80 percent of his extra point attempts in practices and three preseason games in a league where 95 percent is not considered good enough. Bates can boom the ball with exceedingly rare leg strength, but the control and consistency of contact are still very much works in progress. The two failed kickoffs in the final preseason game were both mis-hit attempts, which is something that rarely happens with more experienced kickers.
Coming off a season where Badgley was perfect on field goals and set the franchise record for longest postseason field goal, Bates has some big shoes to fill. The team, notably special teams coordinator Dave Fipp, loves his leg talent and potential.
Relying on such an inexperienced kicker is a major gamble for the Lions. Just for good measure, Detroit is also breaking in a new long snapper in undrafted rookie Hogan Hatten, too. Inexperienced doesn’t mean “bad”; it means “never done it before.”