{"id":182513,"date":"2024-07-26T14:26:25","date_gmt":"2024-07-26T18:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=182513"},"modified":"2024-07-26T14:26:25","modified_gmt":"2024-07-26T18:26:25","slug":"the-ufl-another-option-at-kicker-for-the-detroit-lions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/07\/26\/the-ufl-another-option-at-kicker-for-the-detroit-lions\/","title":{"rendered":"The UFL- Another Option at Kicker for the Detroit Lions"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

As the NFL world reacted to the news about Detroit Lions field goal kicker Michael Badgley’s<\/a> horrific season-ending hamstring injury, it’s a reminder of how quickly an NFL season can instantly turn.<\/p>\r\n

The UFL – Another Option at Kicker for the Detroit Lions<\/h2>\r\n

Badgley was expected to compete for the starting assignment in training camp against Jake Bates<\/a>, the former Michigan Panthers kicker. His injury leaves a gap on the Detroit Lions roster for a kicker. Considering the latest changes to the NFL kickoff rules,<\/a> a kicker with a strong distance leg is an advantage, and there’s no better place to find a kicker who meets that requirement than the UFL.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The UFL -A Masterclass In Field Goal Kicking<\/h3>\r\n

One of the things that distinguished the UFL was the high caliber of kicking talent throughout the league. The UFL gave a masterclass in long-distance kicking with multiple teams having the ability to consistently kick field goals of more than 50 yards. Bates set the standard the very first week by kicking the second-longest field goal in history at 64 yards. In the weeks that followed that historic kick, Bates went on to kick a 62-yard field goal and added another 60-yarde<\/a>r. \u00a0Besides his booming leg strength, Bates can be relied on to deliver multiple field goals in games as he demonstrated in a game-winning performance for the Panthers against the Arlington Renegades on May 7th when he kicked five field goals. Although Bates is wonderfully talented and well-suited to be the starter, the Lions may wish to add a second kicker at some point.<\/p>\r\n

The UFL -A Distance Kickers Paradise\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n

Although Bates was a standout talent in the league, he wasn’t the only one. \u00a0It should be noted that the UFL has become a field goal kickers paradise with six of the eight kickers recording field goals of more than 50 yards.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Andre Szmyt<\/a> of the St. Louis Battlehawks<\/a> led the UFL by converting 19\/21 field goals with a 61-yard kick to his credit. Following the conclusion of the inaugural UFL season, several NFL teams expressed an interest in Szymt but he remains available.<\/p>\r\n

In addition to Szymt, two other UFL kickers could have a future in the NFL. Matt McCrane<\/a> of the D.C. Defenders<\/a> had an excellent season\u00a0converting 16\/20 field goals. His longest kick went for 58 yards. \u00a0Another UFL kicker with a Michigan connection is former Michigan State University kicker Matthew Coghlin<\/a> who was one of the bright spots for the Memphis Showboats<\/a> this season. \u00a0Coghlin consistently delivered on long-range kicks (16\/17) with a 57-yarder to his credit.<\/p>\r\n

Given the wealth of kicking talent available from the UFL, it’s likely that one or more of these young kickers will have a future in the NFL. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Main Photo: David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Michael Badgley out for the season, the Detroit Lions will turn UFL star Jake Bates. Let’s examine other talented kickers from the UFL. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5208,"featured_media":183026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,54],"tags":[32702,7467,32629,32703,32704],"class_list":["post-182513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lions","category-editorials","tag-andre-szymt","tag-detroit-lions-news","tag-jake-bates","tag-matt-mccrane","tag-matthew-coghlin"],"modified_by":"Will Koshover, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5208"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}