Detroit Lions sign K Michael Badgley to 53-man roster; Dolphins' Xavien Howard questionable
The Detroit Lions have settled on a kicker — they hope.
The Lions promoted kicker Michael Badgley from the practice squad to the 53-man roster Saturday and will use the veteran for place kicking duties Sunday against the Miami Dolphins for the third straight game.
Badgley did not attempt a field goal or play in the Lions' Week 5 shutout loss to the New England Patriots, then accounted for all the Lions' scoring in last week's 24-6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
"He did a good job in the game with the kicks and that’s been good and we obviously need to continue that trend going forward for sure," Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said Thursday. "And I would say there’s a lot left. I mean, listen, let’s not jump on the bandwagon too early one way or the other. We’ll just continue to keep working hard and trying to improve and see where it goes from there.”
LIONS VS. DOLPHINS:Dave Birkett's scouting report, prediction
The Lions have employed 10 kickers since letting Matt Prater walk in free agency last spring and have used three different kickers in games this season.
Austin Seibert won a camp battle with Riley Patterson for the job this summer, but aggravated a groin injury while missing two field goals in a Week 3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, including a 54-yarder wide right with 1:14 to play that set up Minnesota's game-winning touchdown drive.
TRADE WINDS?T.J. Hockenson not bothered by trade rumors, wants bigger role in Detroit
Dominik Eberle replaced Seibert in a Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, but was cut after he missed two extra points and sent a kickoff out of bounds.
Badgley made field goals of 40 and 53 yards last week.
The Lions had an open spot on their 53-man roster after waiving defensive tackle Demetrius Taylor this week. On Saturday, they signed Taylor, an undrafted rookie from Appalachian State, to their practice and elevated receivers Maurice Alexander and Stanley Berryhill to the gameday roster from practice squad.
For the Dolphins, top cornerback Xavien Howard is traveling separately to Detroit for personal reasons and is questionable for the game.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions sign K Michael Badgley to 53-man roster
