Allen Park — Hours after Detroit Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp gave an emphatic “no” to a question about whether he wanted the team to explore adding another kicker, the Detroit Lions have added another kicker.
And it’s former Lion Riley Patterson, who was waived heading into the 2022 regular season after appearing in seven games during 2021. Patterson was 30-for-35 on field goals last year and 36 of 37 on extra points while appearing in 17 games for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Patterson was reportedly waived by the Jaguars after they signed free-agent kicker Brandon McManus, most recently with Denver, but as it turned out, the Lions were apparently motivated enough to cough up an undisclosed draft pick to keep him off the open market.
The Lions also have Michael Badgley, one of three players to kick field goals for the Lions last season, and John Parker Romo, who was signed out of the XFL less than two weeks ago. Badgley appeared in 12 games and made 20 of 24 field goals with a long of 53. Romo led the XFL in several key kicking statistics, including his 17-for-19 (89.4%) clip.
“Badgley, obviously, played well for us a year ago. He’s a very accurate kicker,” Fipp said. “He might not have some of the leg strength and all that as some of these guys, but the guy we brought in, Parker Romo…he’s got a big leg, he’s talented, he’s been really good for us, so, I think it’ll be a good competition and excited to see how it plays out.”
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @nolanbianchi
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