Lions reach injury settlement with K Aldrick Rosas

Rosas was on the practice squad IR list and can now sign with any other team

The Detroit Lions have reached an injury settlement with kicker Aldrick Rosas, terminating the kicker’s contract with the team.

Rosas had been on the Lions’ injured reserve list after a very brief stint in training camp with the team. His second cup of coffee with Detroit is now over. Rosas was the Lions’ placekicker for one game in 2021 as well.

Financial terms of the injury settlement were not disclosed. Reaching the settlement means Rosas is free to sign with any other NFL team. He is prohibited from rejoining the Lions active roster until the terms of the settlement allow it; if the settlement paid Rosas for six weeks, he cannot return to Detroit until that time frame has ended.

Austin Seibert has been perfect so far in handling the kicking duties in the first two games. The Lions also have Dominik Eberle on the practice squad.

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Lions swap practice squad kickers due to Aldrick Rosas’ injury

The Lions placed K Aldrick Rosas on the practice squad IR and signed Dominik Eberle to take his place

A weird week on the Detroit Lions injury front took another bizarre turn on Friday. The Lions announced they have placed practice squad kicker Aldrick Rosas on the practice squad/injured reserve list barely a week after signing him.

To replace Rosas, the Lions signed free agent Dominik Eberle to the practice squad. Eberle, 26, has bounced around several NFL practice squads since coming out of Utah State in 2020. He has one game of regular-season experience, making 2-of-3 field goals for the Houston Texans in Week 16 last season.

Regular kicker Austin Seibert missed Wednesday’s practice session but returned at full speed for both Thursday and Friday. Seibert will handle the kicking duties when the Lions host the Philadelphia Eagles at Ford Field on Sunday — barring any other unforeseen injuries.

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The Lions bring K Aldrick Rosas back to the practice squad

Rosas played 1 game for the Lions in 2021 and was with the team thru May

The Detroit Lions have added kicker Aldrick Rosas to the practice squad. It’s a return to Detroit for the veteran kicker, who had been with the team as recently as May.

Rosas was one of four kickers the Lions used in 2021, though he played just one game in Detroit. He made his only FG attempt, a 44-yarder in the Lions’ Week 11 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Rosas also kicked for the New Orleans Saints in 2021 and has prior stints with the Jaguars and Giants on his 6-year NFL resume, including a Pro Bowl berth back in 2018 with New York.

The Lions kept Austin Seibert as the kicker on the roster after Seibert beat out Riley Patterson in a close offseason battle. Patterson is now with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Detroit now has 14 players on the practice squad with a limit of 16. All 14 have been with the Lions this offseason.

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Lions claim DL John Cominsky off waivers, release K Aldrick Rosas

The Lions successfully claimed DL John Cominsky off waivers from the Falcons and released K Aldrick Rosas

The Lions made a roster move to put a bow on the month of May. Detroit claimed defensive lineman John Cominsky off waivers from the Atlanta Falcons on Tuesday.

Cominsky was waived by the Falcons after three underwhelming seasons. He was a fourth-round pick out of D-II Charleston (WV) by the old Atlanta regime in 2019 who never really caught on as a regular. In 2021, the 26-year-old hybrid end/tackle played just 13 snaps on defense. In 27 career games for the Falcons, Cominsky registered 42 total tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Claiming Cominsky off waivers means the Lions do take on the remainder of his contract. The 285-pounder is due $985,000 in base salary. The Lions will not lose any cap room if they cut him before the season.

To make room for the successful waiver claim on Cominsky, the Lions released veteran kicker Aldrick Rosas. That reduces the number of kickers to just two, Austin Seibert and Riley Patterson.

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Lions sign kicker Aldrick Rosas to a reserve/futures contract

The Lions sign kicker Aldrick Rosas to a reserve/futures contract, giving them 3 kickers from 2021 now under their contractual control

A battle royale is shaping up in Allen Park this offseason for the rights to be the kicker for the Detroit Lions in 2021. After a season where the Lions burned through four kickers for various reasons, three of them are now back on the team and ready to compete for the gig in 2022.

The Lions signed Aldrick Rosas to a reserve/future contract on Monday, tying Rosas to the team through the offseason. Rosas spent one week as the Lions kicker last fall, making one extra point and one field goal in Detroit’s 13-10 loss to Cleveland in Week 11.

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Rosas took over that week for Ryan Santoso, who was dispatched after a brutal game in the tie with the Steelers. Santoso missed an extra point and wildly botched a field goal. He is the only Lions kicker from the 2021 season not with the team any longer.

Rosas joins Riley Patterson, who took over his job in Week 12, and Austin Seibert on the roster. Seibert made 10 of his 12 field goal attempts in the first six games before suffering a hip injury. He remains under contract. Patterson went 13-of-14 on field goals after taking over for Rosas. The 2021 rookie is an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA), meaning the Lions can retain his rights quite inexpensively if they so choose.

One area where Rosas, 27, has a leg up is in kickoffs. Over 60 percent of his kickoffs in his five-year career have been downed for touchbacks. Seibert is at 39 percent in his three NFL seasons, while Patterson ceded kickoff duties to Lions punter Jack Fox.

6 kickers Jets can target after Alex Kessman’s struggles vs. Eagles

Alex Kessman is likely out as the Jets’ kicker after his disastrous performance against the Eagles. Here are some options to replace him:

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Alex Kessman’s tenure with the Jets is likely coming to an end before Gang Green takes the field against the Saints in Week 14.

New York cut Matt Ammendola prior to its matchup with the Eagles, giving Kessman the chance to take over as its kicker. The Pittsburgh product bombed his audition, missing two extra points in the first quarter of New York’s blowout loss in Week 13. Robert Saleh never called Kessman’s number again, opting to attempt two-point and fourth-down conversions instead of risking another miss.

“We’ll get someone else in the building and we’ll keep going until something works,” Saleh said postgame.

Kessman said that he won’t “let two kicks define me,” but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Jets let his pair of PAT attempts define — and end — his time in New York. With that in mind, here are six available kickers the Jets could bring in.

Lions release practice squad OL Darrin Paulo, protect 4 players

The Lions released Darrin Paulo and protected the same 4 players on the practice squad, which is a sign of an ongoing position battle

Tuesdays are typically practice squad transaction day, and this week was no exception. The Lions did a little tinkering with the practice squad on the players’ day off.

Offensive lineman Darrin Paulo was released by the team. Paulo has been with the Lions off and on since the start of training camp. His release is a good sign for the injury status of reserve OT Matt Nelson, who has missed the last two weeks with an ankle injury.

The Lions also opted to issue the weekly protection on the same foursome of practice squad players they have for the last three weeks.

  • Bruce Hector, defensive lineman
  • Steven Montez, quarterback
  • Aldrick Rosas, kicker
  • Shayne Zylstra, tight end

The ongoing protection of Rosas indicates the team isn’t yet sold on rookie Riley Patterson. Rosas started ahead of Patterson in Week 11 but the rookie handled his business in Week 12. It’s also a sign that regular kicker Austin Seibert is unlikely to return anytime soon from the injured reserve list.

Saints waive struggling kicker Brian Johnson, promote Brett Maher

New Orleans Saints waive kicker Brian Johnson, promote Brett Maher

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As expected, the New Orleans Saints have moved on from rookie kicker Brian Johnson and promoted Brett Maher from the practice squad. Johnson nailed all eight of his field goal tries across four games for the Saints, but his inconsistency on extra point attempts (where he went 5-of-8) was too problematic to ignore. Johnson made all 131 point-after tries in his Virginia Tech career, but moving the attempt from the 3-yard line (a 21-yard attempt)  in college to the 15-yard line (a 33-yard try) in the NFL was a tough adjustment.

In a corresponding move, the Saints signed Maher from their practice squad and he will be their kicker in Sunday’s game with the Philadelphia Eagles (which also happens to be his 32nd birthday). Maher connected on 49 of 66 field goals over two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys while making 68 of 69 point-after tries.

Maher initially signed with the Saints as their first choice to replace injured Pro Bowler Wil Lutz, but the veteran injured himself warming up for a preseason game and landed on injured reserve. After that the Saints cycled through a series of options ranging from Johnson to Cody Parkey and Aldrick Rosas, so hopefully Maher can be steady enough to finish out the season.

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Lions waive WR Geronimo Allison

Lions waive WR Geronimo Allison and make changes to the protected practice squad

Geronimo Allison’s time with the Detroit Lions has come to an end. The Lions released the veteran wideout on Tuesday.

Allison did not pan out as hoped when the Lions signed him as a free agent before the 2020 season. The former Packer opted out of the 2020 campaign. He played sparingly in time between the active roster and practice squad in Detroit this season. Allison failed to catch a pass in three games with the Lions.

Allison is subject to waiver claims from other teams.

Practice Squad Changes

After adding kicker Riley Patterson to the active roster, the Lions also signed K Aldrick Rosas to the practice squad. And they felt strong enough about the journeyman kicker to protect him with this week’s practice squad group.

Rosas joins DT Bruce Hector, QB Steven Montez and TE Shane Zylstra with this week’s protected class.

In addition, the team terminated the practice squad contract of K Ryan Santoso.

Saints designate Wil Lutz to return from injured reserve

The New Orleans Saints designated Pro Bowl kicker Wil Lutz to return from injured reserve, opening his practice window for three weeks:

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Help is on the way. The New Orleans Saints designated Pro Bowl kicker Wil Lutz to return from injured reserve on Monday, opening his 21-day window to practice with the team. It doesn’t mean he’s a sure thing to kick against the Seattle Seahawks in New Orleans’ next game on Oct. 25, but it does give us an idea of when Lutz will be available.

So if he isn’t ready for this week’s kickoff, Lutz could return in subsequent games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Atlanta Falcons. He’s been unavailable since early in training camp after undergoing core muscle surgery, and the Saints have struggled to replace him. Two of his potential replacements — Brett Maher and Cody Parkey — suffered similar groin injuries during pregame warmups to knock them out of action, while Aldrick Rosas was too erratic to trust any longer.

Now it’s up to Brian Johnson, signed off the Chicago Bears practice squad, to step up. Johnson must remain on the 53-man roster for at least three games, which lines up neatly with Lutz’s practice timeline. At some point New Orleans will have two kickers on the roster which isn’t that big of a problem given how often players can be promoted from the practice squad on game days.

The Saints played a couple games this year with only 51 of 53 roster spots filled thanks to that loophole, so rostering Johnson and Lutz together (albeit briefly) isn’t something Sean Payton or any other New Orleans decision-maker will be losing sleep over. Stay tuned for any other players designated to return from injured reserve in the days ahead, but we may have to wait until Thursday’s initial injury report for clarity.

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