4 kickers Detroit Lions could sign after releasing Michael Badgley

1. Robbie Gould

After six seasons, the San Francisco 49ers moved on from Gould this offseason. He recently told NBC Sports Bay Area he's ready to go whenever a team may want to call him. The Lions, if they weren't one of those possible teams before, should be now.

Gould spent his first 11 seasons with the Chicago Bears, posting a remarkable 85.4 percent field goal rate while playing half his games in the rough conditions of Soldier Field. After a partial season with the New York Giants in 2016, he made 95.1 percent of his field goals in his first year as a 49er in 2017. In 2018, he led the league and set a career-best by making 97.1 percent of his field goals. A drop-off followed in 2019, but he has been steady since, matching the template of his entire career.

In a conversation with The 33rd Team very early in the offseason, Gould outlined what an ideal situation would be for him. Let's also assume a contending team would be something he wants.

" I live here [Chicago] full-time but I don’t know if I want to kick in the cold anymore,” Gould said with a laugh. “I’d look to get a dome and some warm weather first. 40 years, 18 years of doing this, I deserve that I think.”"""

- Robbie Gould

The Lions check the dome team box, and Detroit is not all that far from Chicago. They also have just one late-season cold weather outdoor game, against the Bears on the road in December. Mid-to-late October (Week 7, Oct. 22) in Baltimore could not be great weather-wise too, but that's it for any signficant cold weather concerns.

The Lions having some interest in Gould has felt obvious, at least to some people, for months. Now, after the release of Badgley, it feels like an absolute no-brainer and it looks like a nice fit for both sides.