Lions general manager Brad Holmes professed his desire to add a kicker to the practice squad at the end of training camp, and Greg Joseph was brought aboard last week. Practice squad players are always at risk of being poached by another team for their active roster, if the player wants to take the opportunity, and on Tuesday it happened to the Lions.
According to his agent, Brett Tessler, the New York Giants have signed Joseph to their active roster off the Lions' practice squad.
Joseph was simply an experienced fallback option for the Lions, and bringing him in was no indication that Jake Bates' job security is at all shaky. Bates is 8-for-8 on his kicks through two games (5-for-5 on field goals, 3-for-3 on extra points), as he has rewarded the patience he was shown during the preseason.
In New York, Joseph has an immediate opportunity. The Giants lost their kicker, Graham Gano, to a hamstring injury on the opening kickoff of last Sunday's game against the Washington Commanders, He had battled groin issue during the practice week. but no contingency plans were made. They literally lost to Washington because they didn't have a viable place kicker after Gano was rendered unavailable.
Lions have open spot on practice squad after losing Greg Joseph
The Lions could look to replace Joseph on the practice squad with another veteran kicker (former Lions Riley Patterson and Randy Bullock are among the available options). Even with Bates winning the job and now starting the season well, having a veteran option around has seemed important.
The headline here for the Lions, such as losing Joseph is a needle-mover for some fans, is they now have an open spot on the practice squad-however they may choose to fill it. With Tim Patrick seemingly headed for the 53-man roster in short order, they could ultimately have two practice squad spots to fill as they move toward the start of the practice week on Wednesday.