Tag: Michael Badgley

Jersey numbers for the Lions latest player additions

The latest player additions for the Detroit Lions have decided on their jersey numbers, as well as number switches from last season.

The Detroit Lions have finalized their 53-man roster and practice squad, but as we all know, this could change at any moment. The roster now includes a mix of new and old players, and we’re excited to see what jersey numbers they’ll be wearing this season. Some players have even decided to switch their numbers from last year.

Below is the list of jersey numbers for the new players, as well as the players who have switched their numbers for this season.

Teddy Bridgewater takes over No. 10, previously held by Nate Sudfeld

Jerry Jacobs previously was 39 but switched to No. 23.

Steven Gilmore switched to No. 24 after sporting 36 through the preseason

Michael Badgley goes back to No. 17, which he held last season.

David Blough will be No. 18 this year. He previously was 10 when he was with the Lions before.

Zonovan Knight will hold No. 28 after the departure of Jermar Jefferson

Raymond Johnson will be No. 52 after the release of Christian Covington

Michael Niese will take over No. 62 with the departure of Ryan Swoboda

Darice Fountain will hold No. 84, which was previously held by Avery Davis

Quinton Bohanna will be No. 90 after Cory Durden was waived

Detroit Lions practice squad tracker

The Lions are signing players to the practice squad to start the season. Here’s who has signed in Detroit.

With the 53-man active roster established, the Detroit Lions are now forming the 16-player practice squad for the start of the 2023 season.

All players who are not signed to another team are eligible for the practice squad, though there are limits on how many vested veterans can be on any practice squad.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell extolled the virtue and importance of the practice squad in his final press conference before the roster cutdowns.

“I understand it is, it’s a 53-man roster, but it’s really not. It’s a 60-man team. It’s a 69-man team is what it is, and that’s kind of how we view it. These guys are all on the same team. We all help each other out and every one of those guys, there’s a good chance they’re going to play for us,” Campbell said of the practice squad.

Knowing that context, here is who has signed with the Lions 16-man practice squad.

Chase Lucas, Michael Badgley among early Lions practice squad signings

The Lions practice squad is taking shape, starting with CB Chase Lucas and the return of K Michael Badgley

News and reports of the players signing to the Detroit Lions practice squad are starting to come in after the NFL’s waiver wire processing announcement. Two of the early names for the Lions practice squad are interesting ones.

Cornerback Chase Lucas is back after being waived. Lucas was a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft and showed considerable improvement and more positional versatility in his second training camp. He lost out in a numbers game in the Lions’ suddenly deep secondary.

The other name is a curious choice. Kicker Michael Badgley returns to Detroit on the practice squad. Cut by the Lions in late July, Badgley was subsequently signed — and then released — by Washington and Tennessee. He’s back where he was the Lions’ primary kicker in 2022, now behind Riley Patterson.

The Lions also signed undrafted rookie OT Connor Galvin back to the practice squad.

Report: Lions shopping around for a new kicker

A fresh report indicates the Lions are shopping around for a new kicker ahead of the NFL roster cutdown deadline

As the NFL 53-man roster deadline looms, the Detroit Lions are one of several teams looking for a potential upgrade at kicker. A report from Dianna Russini from The Athletic includes the Lions with a few other teams that are all “making calls around the league” to find a better kicking option.

The Lions currently have Riley Patterson as the placekicker after waiving former XFL standout Parker Romo. Patterson had a rough preseason finale, however; the third-year kicker came up short on a 53-yard field goal attempt and also shanked an extra point. He sorely lacks reliable range, making just three of his eight career attempts beyond 48 yards in his two seasons split between Detroit (2021) and Jacksonville (2022).

The kicking market has been active already. The Cleveland Browns traded a 2025 draft pick to the Chargers for Dustin Hopkins, pulling the plug on 2022 fourth-rounder Cade York after another erratic preseason. The Lions’ primary kicker in 2022, Michael Badgley, has been cut twice since the Lions released him at the start of training camp, too.

Titans release K Michael Badgley among 6 moves

The Titans parted ways with kicker Michael Badgley among six moves on Sunday.

The Tennessee Titans have begun trimming their roster ahead of cutdown day on Tuesday, and one of the moves involved the team parting with the only kicker on its roster.

The team announced on Sunday it has released kicker Michael Badgley, who was signed last week to replace fellow kickers Caleb Shudak and Trey Wolff, both of whom were competing for the starting job originally.

Along with that move, Tennessee also waived linebacker L.J. Davis, wide receiver Gavin Holmes, offensive linemen Zack Johnson and James Murray, and tight end Justin Rigg.

You can follow along with all of the Titans’ latest reported cuts with our tracker right here.

Badgley, who also had an unsuccessful stint in Nashville in 2021, struggled in his lone preseason game with the Titans, missing one of four field goals while also doinking one of his makes off the left upright.

With Badgley gone, the Titans are back to square one at kicker. On top of free agency, Tennessee may also explore the waiver wire over the coming days as teams around the league make cuts.

Whatever the case may be, it’s unfathomable the Titans once again find themselves in such a precarious spot at a position they have routinely struggled with over the last handful of years.

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Titans’ kicker situation remains a major concern ahead of Week 1

Like clockwork, the Titans have a major concern at kicker after Michael Badgley’s poor performance on Friday night.

There are few, if any teams in the NFL who have had the kicker woes the Tennessee Titans have had in the past handful of years, and it looks like Tennessee is set to be facing the same concern once again in 2023.

Knowing those past issues, it’s simply unfathomable that the Titans left their starting job up to a pair of undrafted free agents — both of whom have since been cut — going into training camp.

Tennessee finally decided to bring in a veteran kicker in Michael Badgley, but lest we remind you he’s already had an unsuccessful stint in Nashville, making it a less-than inspiring move.

And Badgley only made it less inspiring on Friday night in the preseason finale, where he missed one of his four field goals while doinking another attempt off the left upright before it went through.

“I know that I definitely can kick better than that,” Badgley said after the game, per Paul Kuharsky. “Today wasn’t the greatest display. Obviously, some of them went in from off the uprights — you’re never going to be mad at those — but I know I can kick better than that. I made some kicks today, kicked off well but I know I’m better than that performance I put out there.”

When asked where he goes from here, Badgley ominously said with a chuckle, “I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Head coach Mike Vrabel, who previously hinted the Titans weren’t done looking at kickers after signing Badgley, said the team will evaluate the veteran kicker’s performance and go from there.

“You have to make (them),” Vrabel said, per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com. “I thought he bounced back, but we’ll take a look at it and work through his performance and see what that looked like and then go from there.”

If the Titans don’t at least bring in another kicker to compete with Badgley ahead of Week 1, it will be yet another example of neglect at the position, something that has now transcended a general manager change.

However, what the Titans really need to do is go out and shore things up by getting the best kicker available, which is Robbie Gould, who already has a connection with general manager Ran Carthon from their days together in San Francisco.

But don’t hold your breath for that.

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Titans K Michael Badgley bounces back in 2nd practice

After a rough first practice on Tuesday, Titans kicker Michael Badgley bounced back on Wednesday.

After an underwhelming first day in Tennessee on Tuesday, Titans kicker Michael Badgley bounced back on Wednesday.

Badgley signed with the Titans yesterday and was immediately thrown into practice — and by all accounts, he struggled with his kicks, missing at least three on the day while also being bailed out by a penalty on another one of his misses before nailing his second attempt.

“No excuses, just got to make the kicks but I’m not really going to sweat it over practice,” Badgley said after Tuesday’s session, per Paul Kuharsky.

Badgley ultimately finished the day by making just 75 percent of his kicks (9-of-12). Naturally, this made the fanbase panic due to all of the struggles the team has had at that particular position over the years.

However, the “Money Badger” bounced back in a big way on Wednesday.

The Miami product was a perfect 10-for-10 during the special teams period, with his longest make being from 51 yards.

Unfortunately, Badgley’s lone miss of the day came during the two-minute drill period, where he was wide right from 53, but he ended up getting another crack at it from 47 and nailed it.

The veteran kicker finished the day by making 91.6 percent of his kicks (11-of-12).

While Badgley’s performance was no doubt encouraging, he’s still going to have to get it done in a game before securing the job. He’ll have a chance to do that on Friday night in the preseason finale against the Patriots.

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Titans K Michael Badgley ‘not really going to sweat it’ after rough 1st practice

Michael Badgley’s second stint with the Titans is not off to a great start.

The Tennessee Titans made a change at kicker on Tuesday, with the team parting ways with both Caleb Shudak and Trey Wolff in favor of veteran kicker Michael Badgley, who previously had an unsuccessful stint with Tennessee back in 2021.

Badgley’s second stint with the Titans got off to a rough start on Tuesday, as he missed three of 10 kicks while facing no rush early in the session. He did, however, finish strong with a make from 49 yards at the end of practice.

“No excuses, just got to make the kicks but I’m not really going to sweat it over practice,” Badgley said, per Paul Kuharsky.

When asked about the addition of Badgley, head coach Mike Vrabel said the 28-year-old will get “the next crack at it” while also adding “we’ll look at other ones, too.”

“Any kicker we bring in or we have on a team just needs to make them,” Vrabel said, per Kuharsky. “We’ve had Michael here before and he’s got the next crack at it. I’m sure we’ll look at other ones, too.”

Based on Vrabel’s comments and how Badgley performed on his first day back, I’d say this situation is anything but settled.

Badgley appeared in one game for the Titans in 2021 and missed his lone field goal attempt and one of two extra points before being let go.

Since then, he posted an 85.7-percent success rate in 12 games for the Colts in 2021 and made 83.3 percent of his field goals attempts with the Lions in 12 games in 2022. He also had a cup of coffee with the Bears last season, where he made all four of his attempts in the one game he played.

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Titans sign K Michael Badgley, waive both young kickers

The Titans have parted ways with both Caleb Shudak and Trey Wolff in favor of veteran Michael Badgley.

After an entire offseason of wondering who was going to win the competition between kickers Caleb Shudak and Trey Wolff, the answer resoundingly ended up being neither of them.

Tennessee parted ways with both Shudak and Wolff on Tuesday afternoon, and have now chosen to go with veteran kicker Michael Badgley.

Badgley had a brief and unsuccessful stint with the Titans in 2021 before revitalizing his career with the Colts and Lions, making 85.7 and 83.3 percent of his kicks, respectively, the last two years.

As for Shudak and Wolff, the two of them appeared to have strong training camps, but Wolff ended up missing 1-of-2 field goals in the preseason, and Shudak barely made his lone attempt.

The Titans entered the offseason looking for a kicker with a bigger leg, and while both young kickers seemed to have that trait, clearly it wasn’t enough for Tennessee to move forward with either.

Badgley is now the only kicker on the Titans’ roster and it appears as if it’s his job to lose. However, the “Money Badger” is already having a rough go of it at his first practice.

This situation is still fluid, but Badgley did end his rough day on a high note by nailing a 49-yard field goal to end practice.

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Ex-Lions kicker Michael Badgley is available once again

Badgley lost the kicking competition in Washington exactly one month after the Lions released their primary kicker from 2022

It’s been a rough summer for Michael Badgley. The kicker has now been released by two different NFL teams.

One month after being released by the Lions, Badgley was released by the Washington Commanders. Detroit’s primary kicker in the 2022 season had signed with Washington shortly after the Lions pulled the plug on the “Money Badger,” but Badgley has now apparently lost the Commanders’ kicking battle to Joey Slye.

The move comes a day ahead of Washington’s second preseason game.

The Lions were set to enter training camp with Badgley as one of three kickers, but he was released just before the start. Badgley made 20 of his 24 field goal attempts for Detroit in 2022, with a long of 53.

Detroit still hasn’t decided on a kicker between John Parker Romo and Riley Patterson.