Allen Park — The Detroit Lions began piecing together the team’s practice squad Wednesday afternoon, announcing the signing of 10 players, including the return of veteran kicker Michael Badgley.
A midseason addition last year, Badgley performed well for the Lions, making 20-of-24 field-goal attempts, with a long of 53 yards, as well as all 33 of his extra points. The two sides came together on a new, one-year deal in free agency, which included $350,000 in guarantees, but he was surprisingly released days before training camp to accommodate the addition of wide receiver Denzel Mims, who had been acquired via a trade with the New York Jets.
“Look it was hard to let Badgley go,” Lions coach Dan Cambell said a few days after the kicker’s release. “That was tough. I have a lot respect for Badge, but you know, we wanted to give another look at (Riley) Patterson. We feel like they’re very similar-type players, Badgley and Patterson. We’ll get a look at Patterson. We like (Parker) Romo. He’s kind of the wild card. He has the big leg. There’s a level of development to him that needs to take place and so we just felt like between those two guys, let’s get a look at them and let them compete against each other. That’s why we did what we did.”
Patterson, who is in his second stint with the Lions after kicking for Jacksonville last season, bested Romo in their training camp competition. But Patterson missed a 53-yard field goal and an extra point in the preseason finale, leading to the team re-adding Badgley as insurance.
More: Rogers: Five quick reactions to the Detroit Lions’ initial 53-man roster
In addition to the kicker, the Lions also signed wide Maurice Alexander guard, Kayode Awosika, wide receiver Dylan Drummond (Eastern Michigan), offensive tackle Connor Galvin, safety Brandon Joseph, cornerback Chase Lucas, linebacker Trevor Nowaske (Saginaw Valley State), defensive lineman Chris Smith and offensive tackle Max Pircher to the practice squad.
That leaves seven more spots on the unit, given Pircher doesn’t count against the 16-man total as an international player (Italy) exemption.
The Lions reportedly are going to fill one of those slots with running back Zonovan Knight, according to the player’s agent. Released by the New York Jets this week, the 5-foot-11, 210-pounder appeared in seven games last season, including four starts. He ran for 300 yards on 85 carries and added another 100 yards on 13 receptions.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers
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