Detroit, MI
Report: Lions tender K Jake Bates ERFA offer
The Detroit Lions are starting to take care of their own ahead of free agency, and it begins with one of the easier decisions to make. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions have tendered kicker Jake Bates an exclusive rights free agent offer. What that means is Bates now has a one-year contract offer at the minimum salary ($1,075,000 for Bates). He can choose to sign it or sit out the season.
The reason the Lions can offer this ERFA tender is because Bates’ contract is expiring after just two accrued seasons in the NFL. All players with fewer than three years of experience who are on expiring contracts could be offered these ERFA tenders. In fact, the Lions did so with three other ERFAs earlier this offseason, all of whom already signed the deals: OL Michael Niese, RB Jacob Saylors, and CB Nick Whiteside.
Bates is coming off a season where he took a step back after an outstanding 2024. After making 89.7% of his field goals in his first year with the Lions, Bates slid back to just 79.4% accuracy. That said, five of his seven misses all season were from 50+ yards, and he was a perfect 14-of-14 from 39 yards or shorter. Additionally, he increased his extra point accuracy from 95.5% to 96.4%. He also steadily improved at the new NFL kickoff, which requires a lot more precision from kickers to boot the ball as close to the goal line without going into the end zone.
It’s unclear if the Lions intend on bringing in competition for Bates this offseason, but special teams coordinator Dave Fipp made it abundantly clear all last season that they value Bates, despite some struggles in 2025.
“Clearly, we have a very, very good player,” Fipp said in December. “If you put him on the streets, there would be a bunch of teams claiming him right away. And the truth is, we’d have a really hard time finding a guy even near the same player as him.”
Chickens and geese that went missing from a local nonprofit’s Detroit site were found in the backyard of a nearby home, the director of operations said Wednesday.
The Full Circle Foundation, a Grosse Point Park-based nonprofit, said more than a dozen chickens and geese were believed stolen from a chicken coop on Detroit’s east side that also features the Full Circle Edible Garden.
The nonprofit provides training and job opportunities for young people with special needs.
Neighbors who learned from news reports about the missing flock found the “chickens were being held in the backyard of a vacant home not far from the Full Circle Edible Garden,” said Stephanie DiVirgil, director of operations. She said Ribbon Farm 4-H owns the flock.
“The homeowner was contacted, and she reached out to Full Circle to confirm,” said DiVirgil. “We were able to retrieve all of the chickens and geese that were found on the property, 19 in total.”
The foundation and Ribbon Farms 4-H are working to secure the site, including cameras, fencing and lights.
“We will likely start a fundraising campaign to have these items installed,” DiVirgil said. “We’ve gotten amazing support from the community, including offers to help pay for these additional security measures.”
DETROIT (WXYZ) — Human remains were found in a furnace of an home on Detroit’s west side, the Detroit Police Department tells us.
The remains was found by an individual working on the home in the 5200 block of S Clarendon just after 11 a.m.
Anyone with information can call 313-596-2260 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-SpeakUp.
Stay with WXYZ.com for updates on this developing story.
The Detroit Police Department is investigating after a 5-year-old child was shot in the arm near a park on Tuesday.
The shooting happened at about 8:50 p.m. near the Fargo-Oaklfield Playground on the city’s west side. Police Chief Todd Bettison says the child was in front of his home riding a bike with his father supervising at the time of the shooting.
Bettison says an individual at the park fired multiple shots, striking the child. He says the boy’s father reported hearing shots and the child falling from his bike.
Bettison says the child is expected to be OK.
Bettison says the person appears to have been firing shots randomly, which he calls “problematic.” He says a person of interest is described as possibly between 15 and 16 years old and wearing a mask. He says the person is known to frequent the area.
“When you fire a weapon, what goes up must go down,” Bettison said. “To parents and everyone, know where your kids are. Juveniles should not have guns, and whether you’re an adult or a child, you should not be firing a weapon inside of the city limits.”
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield released a statement, saying in part, “By the grace of God, this young boy will recover from his injury and is on his way home from the hospital. With that said, this incident was senseless and could have had a much more tragic ending.
“Every child in Detroit deserves to feel safe riding their bike, playing outside, and simply being a child in their own neighborhood. We cannot accept a reality where our children are placed in harm’s way because someone chose to recklessly fire a gun.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-Speak Up.
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