Jack Fox is one of the best punters in the NFL, and he has offered an audition to kick field goals for the Lions.
Punter Jack Fox has been quite a find for the Detroit Lions, with a Pro Bowl season in 2020 and comparable numbers in each of the two seasons since. The team took care of him, with a contract extension that will make him the highest-paid punter in the NFL by average per year.
Fox is also the holder for the Lions, and when given the opportunity to throw via head coach Dan Campbell’s aggressive nature he’s got a 110.4 passer rating on four pass attempts (three completions). He also handles kickoff duties, with a 71.4 percent touchback rate this past season.
Former NFL kicker Nick Novak has entered the coaching business, and his operation (Novak Kicking and Consulting) has become a destination for specialists across pro football. All three Lions specialists were recently in San Diego working out with him.
Fox has previously shown he can kick field goals. Novak recently posted a video confirming it’s still true.
Lions punter Jack Fox auditions to kick long field goals (video)
Lions snapper Scott Daly is the snapper here, with former Michigan State punter Bryce Baringer on the hold.
Check it out here, but I’ll play spoiler and reveal that Fox made the kick from 60 yards out. Seemingly with room to spare too.
A presumed fairly casual setting working with Novak setting lends itself to Fox trying things, like long fields. It’s not necessarily meaningful to the Lions’ plans at kicker, in terms of bringing back Michael Badgley or going another direction this offseason. But there are questions about Badgley’s range from 50-plus yards out, and if/when that might hurt the Lions in a key spot. So Fox showing he could do it is notable in that way.
More broadly, as the Lions “Field Position Optimization Specialist”, there seems to be nothing Fox can’t do.