The Detroit Lions have promoted kicker Michael Badgley and tight end Anthony Firkser to the starting lineup for Week 16 against the Minnesota Vikings.
On Saturday afternoon, the Detroit Lions announced the promotion of two players for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings: tight end Anthony Firkser and kicker Michael Badgley.
Neither action comes as a surprise. Firkser is a required call-up from the practice squad, given the team’s TE2, Brock Wright, has already been declared out with a hip injury. This will be Firkser’s first appearance of the season. Firkser, a mid-season signing amid many tight end injuries, is a five-year veteran with 106 career catches and 1,207 yards. He’ll provide depth as rookie Sam LaPorta and third-year tight end James Mitchell are expected to receive increased playing time this week. The Lions’ tight end performance could be crucial in this game, as they try to protect Jared Goff from the Vikings’ aggressive defense.
After the Lions released Riley Patterson earlier this week, Badgley is the lone kicker on the roster. According to special teams coordinator Dave Fipp, there was a kicker duel going on at practice for nearly a month, and Badgley easily won it.
“Over the course of six weeks, Badgley had been better, and we didn’t want to rush to make that decision right away,” Fipp went on to say. “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.”
Badgley is 94-for-115 (81.7%) with a long of 59 yards in his career, however he hasn’t made one longer than 53 yards since his freshman season. He also makes 161 of 166 extra points (97.0%).
This is Badgley’s second promotion from the practice squad, so he has one more to go. If Badgley is promoted again for the Cowboys game, the Lions will have to sign him to the 53-man roster if he wants to play beyond Week 17.
Notably, veteran defensive end Bruce Irvin is not being promoted by the Lions. He only has one more elevation, which the Lions may save for later.
