Getty Kicker Sam Ficken on the sideline with the Jets in 2020.
The Detroit Lions have made a major shuffle at kicker the last few weeks, and the juggling continues with an addition of a new name to the mix.
While the Lions are on a Week 6 bye, that didn’t mean the goal of improvement was given up on. The team continued to try and scour the market for help and decided on adding yet another kicker to the practice squad as competition.
On Tuesday, October 11, the Lions revealed they had signed veteran NFL kicker Sam Ficken to the practice squad.
#Lions sign K Sam Ficken to the Practice Squad
“Lions sign K Sam Ficken to the Practice Squad,” the team tweeted.
Ficken’s addition comes just a week after the Lions elected to go with Michael Badgley at kicker. Detroit didn’t get Badgley a single rep in Week 5 given they didn’t score, and Dan Campbell elected not to try Badgley from 50 yards away in the first half.
Perhaps the team has seen enough to know they aren’t completely sold on Badgley, so it will be interesting to see where this goes in the weeks ahead, especially if Badgley struggles.
Ficken’s Stats & Highlights
It’s possible there has been no kicker as well-traveled than Ficken at this point in his career. Just 29 and from Penn State, Ficken has been around the league since the 2016 season and has seven years under his belt.
In spite of that, Ficken hasn’t lasted anywhere long. He is just 26-37 in his NFL career, and after starting in Jacksonville, established himself with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017 and 2018, where he made five extra points in a game, yet went 2-3 on field goals. He has a game winner to his credit.
Ficken would go on to have offseason experience with Seattle and Green Bay in 2019 , and then signed with the New York Jets later that season, where he would stick until 2021. After signing with Tennessee and being released after an injury in 2021, Ficken has been a free agent. He has a career long field goal of 54 yards.
Obviously, the Lions must like what they have seen to give Ficken a shot. It will be interesting to see if he is the actual kicker, or just a player around to pinch-hit for the team if needed.
Lions’ Kicker Situation Unsettled
It’s been an unstable time at kicker for the Lions lately. Last week’s move to add Badgley was a corresponding signing after the team had released Dominik Eberle last Tuesday. Eberle wasn’t the reason the Lions lost in Week 4, but his struggles helped in that.
Eberle missed a pair of extra points, so the Lions had a kicker tryout this week. They brought in Lirim Hajrullahu and Ficken, neither of whom they ended up signing at the time. The move to replace Seibert was interesting given he seemed to be the favorite of the staff.
Seibert was 13-17 in his Detroit career, and was just 60% on accuracy this year. He battled injury in 2021 as well as a groin ailment that cost him time this year. He missed a pair of kicks in Week 3 that could have won the Lions the game.
The Lions are looking for something stable at kicker, and in addition to Badgley, now have Ficken at their disposal to try.