4 kickers the Detroit Lions could trade for to replace Riley Patterson

The Detroit Lions made a surprising cut of kicker Michael Badgley just before training camp started, leaving them with the re-acquired Riley Patterson and XFL standout Parker Romo. Patterson appeared to be the clear favorite to win the job, until the preseason finale where he missed a long-ish field goal as well as an extra point.

The Lions are certainly considering kicker options, and if they weren't they would be doing something wrong. Tuesday morning, ahead of the the deadline to be down to 53 players, The Athletic's Diana Russini reported the Lions are among the teams making calls looking to trade for a kicker.

The Cleveland Browns got a solid fish in the kicker trade market on Monday, acquiring Dustin Hopkins from the Los Angeles Chargers. But there are other good options out there.

Badgley halted the Lions post-Matt Prater kicker carousel for a time last season. Since Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell came in in 2021, here's the current list of kickers they have had somewhere on the roster.

Randy Bullock
Zane Gonzalez
Matthew Wright
Austin Seibert
Ryan Santoso
Riley Patterson
Aldrick Rosas
Dominik Eberle
Michael Badgley
Sam Ficken
Parker Romo

Looks like one more name will be added to the list before Week 1. Signing a free agent is possible, but it looks like a trade is being pursued first. In any case, if Patterson is still the Lions' kicker against the Kansas Chiefs on Sept. 7 it will not be because a genuine, thorough attempt to replace him wasn't made.

Here are four kickers the Lions could make a deal for, possibly (likely?) very soon.

4 kickers the Detroit Lions could trade for

4. Brandon McManus, Jacksonville Jaguara

When the Broncos cut McManus, he was an instant possible fit for the Lions to supplant the re-signed Badgley. He landed quickly with the Jaguars, and given how it's worked out for Denver's kicking situation it was probably a mistake by them to let him go.,

The Jaguars are one of few teams with two kickers on their roster right now, late Tuesday morning as of this writing (the Lions among them of course). It's easy to just ink McManus as the guy for them, but if multiple teams are calling around about kickers it makes some sense he's a target and the Jaguars have fielded calls.

The Jaguars are probably hanging up the phone if someone wants to try to make a deal for McManus. But if they're not, there's a non-zero chance he'll be traded and the Lions should be among the teams with interest.

3. Nick Folk, New England Patriots

Folk is lined up to lose the Patriots' kicking gig to fourth-round rookie Chad Ryland. His overall field goal rate "dropped" to 86.5 percent last year, after topping 92 percent in each of the previous two full seasons in New England. But at 38 years old (39 in November) he still has plenty of range and Bill Belichick trusted him to make kicks from long range, with 11, 11 and 10 attempts from 50-plus yards out the last three seasons.

Folk could easily be added to the list of available free agent kickers. But the Lions almost certainly have made a call with trade interest, as he's clearly not long for the Patriots' roster.

Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire is a Folk fan.

Update: Folk has reportedly been traded to the Tennessee Titans.

2. Matt Prater, Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals are clearly in tank mode. Trades came in a flurry late last week. Now they're going to go with either Josh Dobbs or late-round rookie Clayton Tune as their starting quarterback to start the season, if not all year long if Kyler Murray is never healthy enough to play,

That leaves Prater in a similar position to the one he was in in 2021. It didn't make sense for the Lions to pay him what the market would bear when he was a free agent, as they launched a rebuild. Now, it doesn't make much sense for the clearly rebuilding Cardinals to keep a 39-year old kicker.

Prater's age is a thing, if you let it be, and he did miss a few games last season. But he is still plenty capable, converting 88 percent of his field goals (22-for-25; 5-for-6 from 50-plus) last year. In 2020 and 2021, he attempted 10 field goals from 50-plus yards out.

It's unlikely Prater has or would ask for a trade. But the Lions could be calling, and the Cardinals' could add to their stockpile of draft picks with a late-rounder.

1. Will Lutz, New Orleans Saints

Lutz has been legitimately pushed by undrafted rookie Blake Grupe for the kicking job in New Orleans, to the point Lutz has surfaced as a trade candidate. A reunion with Sean Payton in Denver is definitely possible, and Russini's report also mentioned the Broncos as a team hunting for a kicker on the trade market.


Lutz had a down year in 2022, as he went just 23-for-31 on field goals (74.6 percent) while going 33-for-33 on extra points. But before that he had never made less than 82 percent of his field goals in a season, and he's got plenty of leg (career-long of 60 yards,


Lions head coach Dan Campbell is also plenty familiar with Lutz, having been in New Orleans under Payton through the 2020 season. If they are making calls about kickers, interest in Lutz is easy.

Update: Lutz has reportedly been traded to the Denver Broncos.