While it might be too soon to push the panic button about much from the practice field, it’s feeling safe to say the Detroit Lions could have some issues kicking the football this season.
Everyone knew shifting from stud Matt Prater to a pair of unknowns in Randy Bullock and Matthew Wright would be a tough proposition, but the early returns from the newcomers in the kicking competition might be looking even worse than thought.
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During Detroit’s practice at Ford Field on Saturday, August 7, the new kickers were given ample opportunity to prove themselves. The problem? Nobody distinguished themselves at the position during the afternoon, with both Matthew Wright and Randy Bullock struggling with consistency.
Chris Burke of The Athletic and Justin Rogers of the Detroit News were there, and witnessed some of the struggles. As Burke said, the misses weren’t that close. Rogers admitted that the 45 yard threshold could be a problem for the Lions.
Randy Bullock and Matthew Wright are a combined 0-4 for around 53 yards. Bullock just hooked one wide left; Wright came up short.
Kicks beyond 45 yards might be a problem, guys.
That will be a worrying fact for Lions fans considering Prater was one of the strongest legged and accurate kickers in the league. Typically, he was a very sure bet from 45 yards and out. Going back to struggles from that distance will harken memories of when the Lions attempted to replace Jason Hanson with Nate Freese and David Akers. Neither player was good, and Detroit was lucky they were able to nab Prater soon after on the free agency market.
There’s still time for the Lions to clean up these special teams worries, but for a first act, this wasn’t a great one for fans to note at a key position on the field.
Matthew Wright Stats and Highlights
The Steelers signed Wright as an undrafted free agent out of UCF last year, and he pitched in when regular Pittsburgh kicker Chris Boswell was not able to go. Wright was pretty impressive when he did see NFL time, going 7-7 on extra points and 4-4 on field goals, with a long of 46 yards on the season. Boswell isn’t likely to be going anywhere in Pittsburgh, but Wright could have a chance to be the kicker of the future for the Lions given the fact that the team would seem to have a direct need at the spot this offseason
At UCF, Wright was one of the most accurate kickers in school history having made 153 extra points in a row, and is the record holder for most points in a carer with 375. He also has a record for most field goals made at the school with 55. All this is notable because UCF also put Prater into the league and he was no slouch there either.
Here’s a look at some Wright highlights from college:
Many young kickers struggle when they get their first taste of action, but Wright was equal to the challenge which could speak to his abilities at the NFL level moving forward. While it’s still early, Wright needs to find a way tog gain some of that consistency in Detroit.
Randy Bullock’s Stats and Highlights
Bullock came into the league as a fifth-round pick out of Texas A&M for the Houston Texans, and kicked there for four seasons. He then moved on to the New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers and most recently the Cincinnati Bengals from 2016-2020. In his career, Bullock has been fairly accurate, hitting 83% of his kicks in the league. He has a long field goal of 57 yards in his career, and was the Lou Groza Award winner from 2011 as the best kicker in college football.
Here’s one of Bullocks’s worst misses:
Both Wright and Bullock have a full slate of preseason games to help in distinguishing themselves further in the battle, but if this early work is any indication, the Lions might have to think of finding yet another plan at the position.
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New Lions Kickers Struggle Badly During Ford Field Practice