Michael Badgley is back as the Detroit Lions kicker. That’s a status that many fans aren’t happy about, even after Badgley was perfect on field goals in his four regular-season games and three postseason games in 2023.
Badgley shut down any questions about his leg strength with a boomer of a day at Lions OTAs on Thursday. On a cloudless 70-degree day with a light cross breeze, Badgley nailed eight attempts in a row from at least 53 yards. He concluded with a 61-yard success from the right hash mark that would have been good from at least 2-3 more yards.
The day didn’t start great for Badgley. He missed his first attempt from 48 yards wide right, and also yanked a 50-yarder to almost the exact same spot–about 3 ball lengths wide right. After that, Badgley did not miss on his final 18 (by my count) attempts from ranges of 45 and beyond.
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Undrafted rookie James Turner wasn’t as successful, though he did show a very strong leg in drilling a 55-yarder right down the middle. He missed two of three at one point, all from 48-52 yards.
It’s worth noting the long snapper battle has some heat. Veteran Scott Daly had poor snaps on one of Badgley’s misses, and holder Jack Fox really had to work on a couple other ones to get it set. UDFA Hogan Hatten didn’t get many reps but was perfect on his FG snaps.