Getty Austin Seibert kicking off for the Lions in 2021.
The Detroit Lions have competitions across the roster heading toward the preseason, but one of the spots worth watching the most is kicker.
Detroit has a pair of players vying for the role in Austin Seibert and Riley Patterson. Heading into the second week of camp, a bit of an update was provided about where things are trending for the team.
According to Dan Campbell, the Lions might have a new leader in the clubhouse in Seibert. Speaking before practice to reporters including Benjamin Raven of MLive, Campbell revealed that he likes where Seibert is trending at this point.
Lions kicker competition update: Dan Campbell loves where Austin Seibert is at after the weekend, giving him the advantage as of now.
Seibert made one from 62 at Ford Field. Riley Patterson did not. Campbell also praised Seibert’s kickoffs.
“Lions kicker competition update: Dan Campbell loves where Austin Seibert is at after the weekend, giving him the advantage as of now. Seibert made one from 62 at Ford Field. Riley Patterson did not. Campbell also praised Seibert’s kickoffs,” Raven tweeted.
Indeed, Seibert’s kick from Saturday, August 6 was nice, even if it barely cleared and went off the crossbar. Here’s a look at what he did:
⚠️Trigger warning: crossbar-doink FG⚠️
Austin Seibert good from 62 🙌
Patterson was Detroit’s kicker down the stretch and seemed the more stable option, but the team did want to put him through competition to earn the job. It seems they may have stumbled upon something good in Seibert in the process.
A lot will be determined by the preseason which starts this week, but Seibert is looking like the leader in the clubhouse.
ESPN Projected Seibert to Win Kicker Job
Some have seen the presence of Seibert in the kicking competition as major for the Lions given the fact he could steal the job ahead of 2022.
One such projection was made by ESPN and writer Eric Woodyard prior to training camp starting.
Woodyard, as part of a series a few months back, revealed his 53-man roster prediction before training camp and ahead of the summer period and there were a few surprises. Perhaps the biggest was on special teams, where he had Jack Fox, Scott Daly and Austin Seibert representing the battery for the Lions this season.
As for his explanation, Woodyard wrote, “Fox was named a Pro Bowler at punter in 2020, in addition to being named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month during September 2020. He is looking to headline this group with Daly at long snapper and Seibert at kicker.”
Seibert’s inclusion on the roster by Woodyard was interesting given he seemingly had his job stolen by Patterson late in 2021. Seibert also was not as accurate as Patterson considering a 10-12 performance last year before injury. Patterson ended up 13-14 with a long of 49 yards and 16-16 on extra points.
The Lions have maintained this offseason they want competition at the spot, and it seems that Seibert might have the leg up on the competition at this point in time as it has played out.
Seibert’s Stats & Highlights
It’s not as if Seibert doesn’t have some experience to rely on. The kicker has been in the NFL before, and had a remarkable college career when he played with Oklahoma scoring 498 points. While with the Sooners, Seibert and was a fifth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns.
Here’s a look at what got him on NFL radars to begin with:
Seibert lost his job in Cleveland, but was 25-30 with the team, and went to Cincinnati where he was 6-8 with the Bengals in 2020. After signing with the Lions, Seibert went 10-12 with the team.
Now, he might be doing the most to earn the job at this point in time through the early part of camp.
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Dan Campbell Reveals New Leader for Lions Kicking Competition