The Detroit Lions’ kicking competition took a hit Friday with the news that Michael Badgley is headed to injured reserve with a torn hamstring.

The injury is an unfortunate development for the Lions’ special teams, as Badgley was the incumbent in the kicking battle between he and newcomer Jake Bates.

Dave Fipp, Detroit’s special teams coordinator, had observed the work Badgley was putting in and as a result, the coach had high expectations for the veteran kicker in 2024. He noted that Badgley had added distance as well as fine-tuned his kickoffs in the spring.

“The guy’s a special player, a special person, he loves this game. He had, really, the best offseason he’s ever had in his career, I think it’d be fair to say that,” Fipp said. “He was in a great spot. I said to you guys in the offseason that he really worked hard on his leg and making long field goals and adjusting a little bit of his technique. Anyway, he had a great offseason and he came into training camp ready to go and then obviously he got injured. I’m devastated for him. It’s obviously part of this game, it’s really the worst thing as a coach. I think it’s the hardest thing for a coach to deal with. So anyway, we wish him well, I know this will make a good chapter in his book. I know he’s motivated to come back.”

The Lions still seem set on having a competition for the kicker spot, and worked out four players. Among the options that were in Allen Park were Matt Ammendola, Lucas Havrisik, Matt McCrane and Andre Szmyt.

While Fipp did not comment specifically on who the Lions could select out of the group, he expressed his admiration for the Lions’ front office members who organize the tryouts.

Ammendola is the most tenured of the group, and both he and Havrisik kicked for NFL teams a year ago.

“The bottom line is they brought four guys in. And what I’m gonna tell you is every time we’ve been in a position and we’re looking for kickers or looking for players, every time we’ve brought players in, I look at the list and we get an email and they say, ‘Hey, we’re bringing these four guys in.’ We look at it, every time I’ve done it, I’ve looked at it and said, ‘Man, they did an incredible job of finding these guys.’ There’s a couple guys in there we feel good about. Whether or not we bring them in, I don’t know. But I do know that I have a ton of respect for our pro staff and the way that they evaluate talent and they’re really ahead of the curve. Every time we’re looking for someone, they bring in some really good options.”

 

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/lions/ as Fipp ‘Devastated’ for Badgley After Season-Ending Injury.