Detroit Lions kicker to miss season after ‘severe injury’ prepping for practice

DETROIT – The Detroit Lions’ primary kicker will miss the entire season after suffering a “severe injury” while preparing for practice.

The announcement was made by the team’s reporter, Tim Twentyman. He said Michael Badgley was getting ready for practice on Thursday when he suffered the injury.

Ian Rapoport, of NFL Network, reports the injury is a torn hamstring.

Badgley will be placed on injured reserve and miss the season, Twentyman revealed.

In a follow-up post, Twentyman said the Lions plan to bring in another kicker to compete with UFL phenom Jake Bates for the starting job.

Bates earned a deal with the Lions this offseason when he made a series of long kicks at Ford Field for the Michigan Panthers, a United Football League team.

Twentyman said Bates has looked good in practice so far — training camp began on Wednesday — so the team isn’t in a hurry to make a decision on the other kicker.

Field goal kicking hasn’t been a strength for the Lions the last few seasons since they decided not to bring back Matt Prater. Badgley was a solid option, but now the role will fall to Bates or someone else.