The Detroit Lions had to choose between kickers Michael Badgley and Jake Bates at the beginning of the preseason. But Bates played in all three preseason games following Badgley’s hamstring tear. Aside from Bates, the team’s original 53-man roster now has just one kicker.
During the annual post-training press conference on August 29, assistant general manager Ray Agnew and executive vice president and general manager Brad Holmes of the Lions discussed the team’s kicker predicament. They stated that Bates has earned a berth on the playing squad, but they’re still considering “adding another kicker” to the reserve group.
GM Brad Holmes Discusses Adding a New Kicker and Jake Bates
During the press conference, Holmes expressed his admiration for Bates’ ability to recover from setbacks in preseason games.
“The most important thing is that he is unaffected if he misses one, regardless of what you say about accuracy and all that stuff,” Holmes stated. He’s not bothered by it. That was a positive quality that Badgley possessed as well, so given that he possesses it, along with a physical component and these repetitions from training camp, let’s see how far it can go.
Then, Holmes stated that the Lions were still in need of kicker assistance, which makes sense considering that Bates is now the team’s only kicker and Badgley is out for the season.
Holmes stated, “We’ll still look at adding another kicker to the practice squad.” “I think (Bates) earned (the role) to give it a shot, but I would have preferred to have a little more experience.”
Bates Jake possesses a “Big Leg”
Bates’ athleticism was also noted by Holmes, who claimed that the kicker is “wired” correctly.
“We are all aware of his abilities. “He has a large leg,” remarked Holmes. “Kickers need to have a specific wiring pattern, and we discovered early on that he has that pattern. One of our best decisions, in my opinion, was to not substitute another kicker for Michael Badgley when he went down. We brought in a few people for the workout, but we told them to basically give this child as many repetitions as they could. He did get well, and he is still getting well.
Bates, who was a member of the Michigan Panthers of the UFL, ended the preseason 3-of-4 on extra points and 6-of-7 on field goals. 85.7% was his preseason field goal percentage.
Brad Holmes on the Lions’ wide receiver roster During the press conference, Holmes also discussed his reasons for believing in the receiving room on the club.
“If we didn’t have an elite player (St. Brown) leading that one position, if Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond weren’t there, and that was just one component of the offense,” Holmes remarked. If we didn’t have a quarterback with two tackles, two guards, a center, a tight end, and two running backs, I wouldn’t have as much faith in the other players in the receiver room. Although it’s entirely a team effort, I would still be confident despite having less.
