Tag: Michael Badgley

Lions re-sign K Michael Badgley

Lions re-sign K Michael Badgley ahead of free agency

Cross one name off the lost of pending free agents for the Detroit Lions. The team announced on Thursday that it has re-signed kicker Michael Badgley.

Badgley was set to be a free agent after his one-year deal in Detroit expired, but the Lions are bringing him back for a potential third season. He was Detroit’s kicker in 2022 and returned to replace Riley Patterson midway through 2023.

The veteran set a Lions playoff record with a 54-yard field goal in the wild card win over the Rams.

Terms of the deal are not yet publicly available.

Detroit Lions unrestricted free agents now that the 2023 season is completed

With the 2024 offseason looming, here is the master list of the Detroit Lions unrestricted free agents

The Detroit Lions had an impressive season, coming within one game of a Super Bowl berth despite their loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Looking ahead, the future seems promising for the Lions.

GM Brad Holmes and Coach Dan Campbell are likely already diligently evaluating the roster, identifying areas for improvement to overcome the challenges. From a personal perspective, they should have the trust of the fanbase to execute the necessary moves. As they enter the offseason, the Lions possess $58.6 million in cap space, ranking sixth in the NFL according to Over the Cap. This substantial amount will likely be essential to bolster the roster, especially with only 38 players currently under contract for the upcoming season.

Certain players demonstrated their value this season, earning a return to the roster, while others failed to meet expectations. The decisions on who to retain and who to release will be intriguing. Here’s the comprehensive list of the Lions’ unrestricted free agents.

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10 former Colts on AFC, NFC Championship rosters

10 former Colts are on the AFC, NFC Championship rosters.

As the playoffs heat up with the conference championship gets set for this weekend, the Indianapolis Colts will see a handful of former players taking part in the big games.

By our count, 10 former players across three of the teams donned the horseshoe at one point regardless of whether they were an early draft pick or a player on the practice squad.

Here’s a look at 10 former Colts players who are on the AFC and NFC Championship rosters:

Lions beat the Rams for the franchise’s first playoff win since 1991

Lions beat the Rams for the franchise’s first playoff win since 1991

The first three games of wild card weekend were uncompetitive blowouts. The Lions and Rams changed that with a very competitive Sunday night affair that left few fingernails for fans of either team.

In the end, the Lions prevailed in Ford Field, 24-23, with Jared Goff kneeling in victory formation. The former Rams quarterback outdueled the former Lions quarterback for the first postseason victory in Ford Field and Detroit’s first playoff win since the 1993 season.

Both offenses came out on fire. There were points scored on the first six drives of the game, with three touchdowns by Detroit and two TDs and a field goal from the Rams. Jared Goff completed his first 10 passes, while counterpart Matthew Stafford threw for 137 yards and two TDs in the second quarter,

Detroit took the 21-17 lead into the half, though their final drive ended in some officiating controversy, because no Lions game is complete without one.

In the second half, the defenses put their better feet forward. Detroit managed just one field goal, a 54-yarder from Michael Badgley, in their next four drives. The Lions defense held tough in the red zone, holding the Rams to two short field goals in their next three drives.

That set up crunch time over the final half of the fourth quarter. Detroit’s defense got a critical stop with a little over four minutes left, thanks in part to a couple of officiating decisions from referee Craig Wrolstad’s crew that went their way.

Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for a massive first down inside the two-minute warning to seal the cathartic win for Detroit. He finished 22-of-27 for 277 yards and a touchdown. Stafford threw for 367 and two touchdowns, but the stalled drives in the red zone prevented the narrative of No. 9 returning to Detroit and ruining the party from happening.

The Lions now advance to the divisional round, where they will face the winner of the Buccaneers/Eagles game. Detroit will host that game no matter the opponent.

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Lions waive freshly activated FB Jason Cabinda in a series of roster moves

Cabinda was activated from I.R. and then waived in a span of 24 hours

It’s been a weird 24 hours with the Detroit Lions on the NFL’s transaction wire. After making some moves on Thursday, primarily activating FB Jason Caibnda from the injured reserve, GM Brad Holmes and the Lions were busy on Friday.

Cabinda was waived on Friday in a surprising maneuver. Waiving Cabinda means he will not be eligible to rejoin the team in time for Saturday night’s game in Dallas.

Taking Cabinda’s spot on the 53-man roster is kicker Michael Badgley. That move was expected, with Badgley facing the final practice squad elevation for 2023 after being elevated the last two weeks. Detroit still has one other opening on the 53-man roster.

Also, the Lions shuffled the practice squad. The team released DL Chris Smith and brought back OL Michael Schofield to the practice squad.

Waiving Cabinda could be a move designed to protect other players at the bottom of the roster whom the Lions wish to keep. It’s unlikely any other team will claim Cabinda for a couple of reasons. First, few teams utilize a straight fullback like Cabinda; most already have their FB or use a hybrid TE or extra OL in the role, if needed. Secondly, Cabinda is coming off an injury and has bene sight unseen for any team that might be interested.

Lions elevate two from practice squad to face the Vikings in Week 16

Lions elevate Michael Badgley and Anthony Firkser from the practice squad to face the Vikings in Week 16

In advance of Sunday’s matchup with the Vikings in Minnesota, the Detroit Lions have elevated two players from the practice squad to the active roster.

As expected, kicker Michael Badgley was promoted for the Week 16 game. It’s the second elevation in a row for Badgley, who beat out Riley Patterson in an in-season kicking competition. Players are allowed three elevations per season.

Tight end Anthony Firsker was also elevated. It’s the first elevation for the 6-year vet, who has not played yet in 2023. He will fill the role of reserve TE Brock Wright, who has been ruled out with an injury for the game after not practicing throughout the week.

The Lions did not elevate EDGE Bruce Irvin for the game. He will not play against Minnesota

Lions special teams coordinator explains why the team made a change at kicker

Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp explains why the team made a change at kicker from Riley Patterson to Michael Badgley

Michael Badgley is the Lions’ new kicker. The change back to Badgley, the team’s primary kicker in 2022, took place last Saturday in Detroit’s win over the Broncos.

Badgley replaced Riley Patterson, who has since been released. The move had been in the works for some time, however. Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp explained when their internal competition began and why the team switched back to Badgley in the season after Patterson had beaten him out over the summer.

“Internally, we had those guys competing in practice and so they would each get roughly six kicks a day and we’d kick them at least twice a week, so it was 12 kicks a week,” Fipp explained. “And over the course of six weeks, Badgley had been better, and we didn’t want to rush to make that decision right away. We felt like he deserved as fair of an opportunity as we could have given him, but it was clear at the end of the day that he was playing better.

Fipp continued,

“And so, ultimately, the way that I handle those decisions, I mean my job is to really have the best interest of the whole team in mind, or the whole locker room and all those players sitting in that meeting and it’s not just one person, but it’s really I have a responsibility to be fair to all them by playing whoever we think is the best player. And with a kicker it’s pretty clear. I mean makes and misses and percentages. And I do think that practice matters, and I do think that players trend towards what their practice stuff is.”

Fipp thought that the leg strength of the two are “very comparable”, but noted that Patterson missing two extra points in three games did play a factor.

Candidates for the Lions to cut to make room for players returning from injuries

When CJGJ, Alim McNeill, James Houston and others (potentially) return, the Lions will have to make some cuts to free up roster space and these players are the most vulnerable.

There are a few players who are poised to come back to the Detroit Lions in the coming couple of weeks after missing time with injuries.

It will be a real boost for the Lions to potentially get back players like Alim McNeill, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Jason Cabinda and James Houston. The process already started with the activation of rookie QB Hendon Hooker from the non-football injury list on Tuesday.

With the returns, it means some players currently on the active 53-man roster will need to be cut to make room. Kicker Riley Patterson was the first victim, as he was waived for Hooker to get activated. Michael Badgley is the new kicker, though he remains (for now) on the practice squad. That’s another roster spot that will eventually need to be freed up, too.

Who are the unfortunate likely candidates to be waived when guys like McNeill and Gardner-Johnson return? Remember–all players are subject to waivers from now through the end of the season, so there has to be some strategy involved here.

The Lions confirm Michael Badgley is Detroit’s new kicker

Dan Campbell confirmed the Lions kicking change from Riley Patterson to Michael Badgley after the win over the Broncos

When the Detroit Lions announced they’d elevated kicker Michael Badgley from the practice squad for their Saturday night, it was something of a surprise. Even though Badgley fared relatively well as the team’s kicker in 2022, there had not been any sense of internal dissatisfaction with Riley Patterson.

The story was different behind closed doors at the Lions practice facility in Allen Park. According to Dan Campbell, Badgley and Patterson had been battling in practices for weeks. The move to elevate Badgley for Week 15 was the acknowledgment that Badgley has won the battle.

Campbell confirmed it after the game.

“Yeah, they’ve been competing now for about five weeks,” Campbell noted. “I mean before the Chargers. So, this was something we wanted to do, give (Badgley) Badge a go with Riley (Patterson) and they’ve been battling it out, and he (Badgley) won it.”

Badgley didn’t get a chance to attempt any field goals, though he did convert all six of his extra points. That’s an area where Patterson had been struggling, missing two over the course of three games.

“For this game, it just was right and it’s been that way for a while and this was the right move and so we’re going to go there. Got a lot of faith in Badgley,” Campbell continued.

Back in training camp, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp indicated that Badgley’s poor performance on kickoffs was a factor in Patterson beating him out. However, punter Jack Fox remains the primary kickoff specialist. Badgley has consistently shown a bigger leg than Patterson in field goal situations, with a career-long of 59 back in 2018. Patterson’s short-range accuracy was his calling card, but missing the extra points killed that narrative.

Lions elevate two players from the practice squad for Week 15

Lions elevate veterans Bruce Irvin and Michael Badgley from the practice squad for Week 15

In advance of Saturday night’s game at Ford Field, the Detroit Lions have elevated two players from the practice squad to the active roster.

Defensive end Bruce Irvin and kicker Michael Badgley have been promoted for the Week 15 matchup against the Denver Broncos. It’s the second elevation for Irvin, who was also moved up for the Week 13 game. Badgley has not played in Detroit this year after spending most of the 2022 season as the teams kicker.

Regular kicker Riley Patterson did not have any injury issues noted through the week,  which makes Badgley’s elevation an interesting choice. Badgley does have longer field goal range than Patterson, but not by a large distance.