Titans Choose Their Next Kicker
NASHVILLE – Three weeks ago, Randy Bullock said he hoped to continue the Detroit Lions’ history of longevity with their placekickers.
Tuesday, he became the latest to enter the revolving door that has seen Tennessee Titans’ kickers come and go over the last two-plus seasons.
The Titans signed Bullock to their active roster three days after they added him to their practice squad. He replaces Michael Badgley, who was 1-2 on PATs and 0-1 on field goals in Sunday’s 38-13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. It was Badgley’s only game for Tennessee.
Bullock, 31, spent the offseason and training camp with the Lions, a team that had just three primary kickers in 40 of the previous 41 seasons. He was perfect in the preseason, 3-3 on field goals and 1-1 on PATs, but was released on Aug. 31 along with the only other kicker on the roster at that time.
"For the most part (I) had a great training camp,” he told the Lions’ website days before his release. “There's been a couple days where I missed some kicks, but for the most part I feel great. I'm ready to go.
"What I do is, I compete against myself every day. If I do my job, I'm in a good situation."
With Tennessee, he is in the enviable position of following someone who did not perform well. Badgley was signed to the practice squad last Friday and promoted to the active roster a day later when Sam Ficken went on injured reserve. His misses cost the Titans four points and some early momentum and did nothing to inspire confidence in the coaches or fan base.
Badgley was released on Monday.
Chances are, though, Bullock is not here for the long haul. Assuming he makes it to Sunday in Seattle, he will be the eighth different Titans placekicker since the start of the 2019 season, and the best-case scenario figures to be for him to keep the job until Ficken is healthy.
Ficken was added to the injury report last Friday due to an issue with his right groin. His right leg is his kicking leg.
The fact that he is on injured reserve means he must miss at least three games, which means he will not be available before Oct. 3, when the Titans play the Jets in New York. Coach Mike Vrabel and the medical staff do not issue estimates on how long players will be sidelined by injuries.
It is worth noting, though, that the Jets cut Ficken early in training camp. So, if there is any chance that he can come back as early as possible, he certainly has the motivation to do so.
Bullock is a nine-year veteran who has appeared in at least one game for five different NFL franchises. The majority of his experience came in four-plus seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals (20116-20) and three-plus seasons with the Houston Texans (2012-15). For his career, he has made 83.2 percent of his field goal attempts (168 of 202) and 95.6 percent of his PATs (215 of 225).
