Detroit Lions: Predictions for five important free agents
Matt Prater
Position: Kicker
Age: 36
2020 statistics: 21/28 field goals, 38/41 extra points, 6/10 from 50+ yards
2020 base salary: $2.7 million
Unlike many NFL teams, the Lions have boasted a strong kicking game over the better part of the last decade, thanks to Prater’s consistency and long-range prowess. After a rocky 2020 season though, his future in Detroit is murky.
His seven missed field goals were his most since his first full NFL season back in 2008. His three missed extra points tied a career-high, and his 64% mark from 50-plus yards was a career-worst for any season in which he attempted more than five kicks from that range. Not an ideal way to enter free agency.
in 2020, Prater did set the NFL mark for the most career makes from at least 50 yards, and he still demonstrated his knack for clutch boots. He hit game-winning kicks against the Arizona Cardinals and the Washington Football Team, and an untimed, deciding extra-point against the Atlanta Falcons.
That kind of icy resolve is undoubtedly the envy of many NFL squads. Still, he missed too many makeable attempts that would have been sure things just a few years ago.
Expect the Lions to scour the kicker market this offseason, including looking at rookies who could be viable replacements. However, making a change a kicker is always a risky proposition, as the Lions themselves know all too well.
After franchise legend Jason Hanson’s retirement following the 2012 season, the Lions cycled through three different kickers over the next 21 games, with those replacements’ poor performance likely costing Detroit several wins. They took a chance on Prater in 2014 and were in great shape for the next several years, but time may be beginning to catch up with the veteran.
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If the Lions want to avoid another potentially arduous kicker search, Prater could certainly return in 2021. He would probably have to take a pay cut though – his base salary ranked eighth in the NFL in 2020 among placekickers. More likely, he will have to fend off a younger player at the position when the Lions reconvene this offseason.
Prediction: Prater returns on a one-year deal, but with a young kicker providing competition in training camp.
All salary cap figures courtesy of Spotrac