Lions are putting their complete faith in kicker Jake Bates

The Detroit Lions initially figured they'd have a fierce preseason kicking competition, but a very early injury to Michael Badgley changed that dynamic.

After Badgley went down, Jake Bates assumed full-time duties and did not relinquish the role. He has remained the only kicker on the roster right through to the cut down to 53 players.

As Brad Holmes explained, and as previously suggested by special teams coach Dave Fipp, that was by design. The Lions got a long look at Bates in camp and during the preseason, with a lot of work to evaluate since there was no other kicker around.

Holmes liked how the Lions put pressure on Bates, and appreciated his response.

"We all know the ability that he has. He's got a big leg. One thing about kickers is you have to be wired a certain way and we learned early on that he's wired right. I thought that's one of the smartest moves that we did make is when we had (Michael) Badgley go down, we did not bring another kicker in. We brought a handful of guys in for the work out, but we said 'look, let's just let this kid get every single rep possible.' He did get better and he's continuing to get better."

The Lions have played musical kickers before, so Holmes acknowledging that he wanted to see things through with Bate.

Brad Holmes impressed by Jake Bates' mental toughness

Even though Bates wasn't perfect during the preseason, Holmes understands the importance of the response to adversity. His young kicker constantly bounced back, and that resilience was what won him the job.

"The main thing regardless of what you say about accuracy and all that stuff, if he does miss one, it doesn't affect him. It doesn't bother him. That was a good trait that Badgley has as well, so being he has that and he has a physical component and he's gotten these reps in training camp, let's just see how far it can go. We'll still look at adding another kicker to the practice squad. Got to have a little bit more experience, but I think (Bates) earned (the role) to give it a shot."

A kicker will probably be added to the practice squad, but that is not an indictment on Bates. It's just an acknowledgment that anything can happen in football. Badgley's injury showed that even kickers are one accident away from being shelved. Having someone with experience ready to go is always a good idea.

The Lions are all-in on Bates, so maybe the kicker carousel that's lasted for years is over.