Getty Kicker Aldrick Rosas with Jacksonville during 2020.
The Detroit Lions hope their lingering questions at kicker from 2021 are now behind them, but it’s never a bad idea to have a backup plan just in case.
That’s why the team has made a move to bring a player into the practice squad with some NFL experience. The team added Aldrick Rosas to their practice squad on Thursday, September 1. The team revealed the news on Twitter.
#Lions have signed K Aldrick Rosas to the Practice Squad
“Lions have signed K Aldrick Rosas to the Practice Squad,” the tweet read.
Obviously, the expectation and hope is that Rosas doesn’t have to see the field, especially given Austin Seibert was declared the winner of Detroit’s kicking competition.
Rosas was with the team in the offseason, but was not a part of the Lions’ kicking competition in camp. Now, he returns to the practice squad to fill a slot in case the team should need a leg at any point.
Lions’ 2022 Kicking Competition Settled
Detroit seems to have settled on a winner from their recently-completed kicking competition, selecting Seibert over the recently released Riley Patterson.
While Patterson held down the job late in the 2021 season while Seibert was injured, the team apparently liked what they saw from Seibert more over camp and the preseason, and elected to go with him as their kicker for this season.
Patterson, meanwhile, was recently picked up by the Jacksonville Jaguars. If he stays on the roster, the Lions will see him later in the 2022 season when the Jaguars visit the Lions in December.
With this in mind, Seibert is facing a bit of pressure as he starts the season to be good right off the bat. Patterson was solid down the stretch for the Lions, converting 13-14 field goals, but the Lions had concerns about him from distance given his long of 49 yards.
The hope is that Seibert has a longer leg and is more accurate, which is a big reason he emerged for the team.
Rosas’s Career Stats & Highlights
Even though he is but 27 years old, Rosas has tons of NFL experience under his belt already, which is decent news for the Lions if they should need him.
The kicker entered into the league in 2016 out of Southern Oregon as an undrafted free agent, and bounced around early in his career, from Tennessee first to the New York Giants where he stuck from 2017-2019. While with the Giants, Rosas had a big season in 2018, when he cracked the Pro Bowl by only missing two kicks all season long. Rosas was also named a second-team All-Pro for his work on the field that year.
Here’s a look at his greatest hits from that season:
Rosas would go on to Jacksonville in 2020 and New Orleans in 2021 before landing with the Lions late in the season. He went 1-1 on kicks for the Lions, playing in a single game with a long of 44 yards.
As a whole, he’s been decent in his career, going 70-86 on kicks and 95-103 on extra points. After his big season, Rosas got an erratic leg, but clearly, the Lions believe he has worked those issues out now.
The hope is Seibert is solid and the team never has to find out, but Rosas is at least on the practice squad for the Lions now if the need arises.
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Lions Add Former Pro Bowl Kicker to Initial 2022 Practice Squad