Ficken Gets Another Chance to Fix Things

He is now on the practice squad of the Detroit Lions, a franchise going through kickers the way the Mike Vrabel's team did not long ago.

Sam Ficken finally has another chance.

The Detroit Lions signed the former Tennessee Titans kicker on Tuesday as they continue a search for stability at the position that resembles what the Titans went through not that long ago.

He becomes the sixth placekicker Detroit (1-4) has signed since the end of last season. More than half have been in uniform for games this season.

As of now, the Lions have no one at that position on their active roster. Ficken joins Michael Badgley – another former Titan – on the practice squad, and Detroit has an open date this week, which gives franchise officials time to evaluate exactly what they want to do with them.

Ficken had been unemployed after having spent all last season on the Titans’ injured reserve list. He has made 49 of 56 extra points (87.5 percent) and 35 of 48 field goals (72.9 percent) in 28 career games for the Los Angeles Rams and new York Jets from 2017-20.

He figured to be Tennessee’s kicker in 2021 when he won a training camp battle with Tucker McCann that was punctuated by his 58-yard field goal at Tampa Bay in the second game of the preseason. However, he sustained a groin injury days before the season opener and was sidelined for the remainder of the year.

Badgley, who had been on the practice squad, took Ficken’s place but missed one field goal and one PAT in a season-opening loss to Arizona. The Titans released him and turned to Randy Bullock who has locked down the job ever since.

Bullock has been the Titans’ placekicker for the past 21 games, the longest run since Ryan Succop kicked in every game for five consecutive seasons (2014-18). A knee injury that sidelined Succop at the start of 2019 started a stretch in which Tennessee had seven different kickers of 33 games before Bullock took over.

Detroit’s problems started last season when it decided not to re-sign veteran Matt Prater. That team went through five kickers during the 2021 regular season, including Ryan Santoso, who briefly was with Tennessee in 2019.

Now, Ficken has a chance to fix things – the way it looked like he would do for the Titans.