Matt Prater Leaving May Haunt Detroit Lions' Offense
The Detroit Lions' kicking game may be a cause for concern as the season approaches.
Former Lions kicker Matt Prater, who was in Detroit for seven seasons, signed a two-year contract to play with the Arizona Cardinals this offseason.
Prater, 36, was coming off a season in which he missed seven field goals and three extra points. All of his missed field goals were from 40 yards and beyond.
Ex-Steelers kicker Matthew Wright was signed to a futures contract this offseason, and is currently in a training camp battle with veteran Randy Bullock, who also signed this past offseason.
Bullock is now on his sixth team in the past decade. In 2020, he successfully made 21-of-26 attempts for the Cincinnati Bengals, including making three-of-five from beyond 50 yards.
On Saturday, in front of fans at Ford Field, both Bullock and Wright missed attempts from 50 and 54 yards, respectively.
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Asked if he had any concerns based on what he observed Saturday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell acknowledged the rough day Bullock had, but wanted to avoid any quick reactions, based on how the kickers have performed throughout all of training camp.
“No, because Bullock has been kicking it well to this point. He had a rough one today," Campbell said. "Now, let's see how we correct it. It’s not going to be a knee-jerk reaction from me right now. I mean, it's way too soon to do that. But, certainly, he'd be the first one to tell you he needs to kick better.“
If Detroit's offense struggles in the red zone early in the season, the kicking game will be called upon to secure much needed points.
If the kicking game becomes unreliable, especially from distances of 45 yards and beyond, Detroit's struggles offensively will be compounded.
"These guys win and lose football games," Detroit special teams coordinator Dave Fipp explained. "It comes down to them. But, I would say consistency and just a really strong mindset is probably the two most important things."
The Lions return for Week 3 of training camp on Monday.
