4 veteran kickers Detroit Lions could pivot to before the 2023 season starts

2. Robbie Gould

An old rival in Gould could give the Lions the leg-up they need at kicker, given his ample experience.

As Gould explained to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area in July, he still wants to kick even after being let go by the 49ers and might be waiting until roster battles are decided to see where he can land.

""I know training camp is coming up and I’m ready for the next opportunity,” “And I’m sure these teams will give these young kids a chance and find out who has a chance to compete. I think things will get a lot more serious. But, yeah, I’m ready to go and looking forward to the next season.""

- Robbie Gould

Gould converting 86.5 percent of his field goals while calling Chicago or San Francisco home for most of his career is pretty remarkable. No wonder he told The 33rd Team what he did early this offseason. The Lions also appear to fit his want, as a dome team but relatively close to where he lives in Chicago.

"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.”""""

1. Mason Crosby

The thought of signing Crosby could be as revolting to some Lions fans as it likely would be to Green Bay Packers' faithful, but the fact is, he's the best kicker on the market and would be an instant upgrade.

Crosby has spent his entire 16-year career with the Packers, with a good share of ups and downs. He had a notably rough game at Ford Field in 2018, when he missed five kicks (four field goals and an extra point, when the latter was much shorter than it is now). He described that experience to reporters afterward (via NFL.com).

""I've done this a long time and I've never had a game like that," Crosby told reporters after the game. "This is uncharted territory. ... That type of game has never happened to me. I'm going to evaluate it and chalk it up to an anomaly in life.""

- Mason Crosby

Anomaly it was. Crosby bounced back to make 91.7 and 100 percent of his field goals the next two seasons. He has kicked in division races and playoff pushes before. That experience could serve the Lions very well this year.