Indianapolis Colts kicker Michael Badgley will head on the road to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 9. Badgley has been excellent for the Colts since taking over kicking duties after Spencer Shrader was lost for the season with a knee injury. The veteran placekicker has made all three of his field-goal tries while hitting 12 of his 13 extra points in three contests. The Steelers have been generous to kickers this season, allowing the 11th-most fantasy points per game to the position. Although Badgley hasn't attempted multiple field goals in a game yet, Shrader was near the league lead in field-goal makes and attempts before he got hurt. Badgley sets up as a top-10 fantasy kicker in Week 9.
Nov 1, 2025 10:19 AM EST
Indianapolis Colts kicker Michael Badgley made a strong debut with his new team, hitting his lone field goal and adding four extra points in a Week 6 win over the Arizona Cardinals. The veteran kicker will look to keep it going in a Week 7 road matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. Los Angeles has been generous to kickers this season, allowing the 11th-most fantasy points per game to the position thus far. The Colts have one of the top offenses in the league and have afforded plenty of scoring opportunities for their kickers through six games. Badgley sets up as a top-15 fantasy option heading into Week 7.
Oct 17, 2025 8:04 PM EST
Indianapolis Colts kicker Michael Badgley will make his debut with his new team in a Week 6 home matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. Badgley was signed earlier in the week after former kicker Spencer Shrader (knee) suffered a season-ending knee injury in a Week 5 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. While this will be Badgley's first game this season, the Colts' offense has provided plenty of scoring opportunities for the kicker through the first five games of the season. This sets Badgley up as a top-12 fantasy option right out of the gate. Fantasy gamers can feel free to insert him into their starting lineups on Sunday as a solid option.
Oct 11, 2025 9:13 AM EST
With kicker Spencer Shrader (knee) set to miss the remainder of the 2025 season due to a torn ACL and MCL, the Indianapolis Colts signed veteran kicker Michael Badgley as a replacement earlier this week. Badgley has appeared in 64 career NFL games over six seasons for six different teams, and most recently played in four games for the Detroit Lions in 2023. He's connected on 82.4% of his career field goal attempts, although he's struggled from long distance. Badgley has made just five out of 13 attempts (38.5%) of his career attempts from 50-plus yards out. Before getting injured, Shrader was one of the most productive kickers in fantasy this season. Badgley profiles slightly less favorably but could be a low-end starting option in Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Oct 10, 2025 10:24 AM EST
The Indianapolis Colts are signing free-agent kicker Michael Badgley to their 53-man active roster on Tuesday, sources told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Badgley will get the first crack for the Colts at replacing Spencer Shrader (knee), who suffered a torn ACL and MCL in the Week 5 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. The 30-year-old kicked for Indianapolis back in 2021 and is fully healthy now after missing 2024 due to injury. He went 18-for-21 on field-goal attempts and 39-for-39 on his extra-point tries in his 12 games with the Colts in 2021. Badgley has a career 82.4% success rate on his 119 field-goal attempts in his six years in the NFL with five different teams. Badgley will probably have a short leash his second time around in Indy if he struggles, but he'll be kicking half his games indoors at Lucas Oil Stadium for what has been a surprisingly explosive offense.
Oct 7, 2025 4:35 PM EST
The Detroit Lions recently cleared veteran kicker Michael Badgley (groin) from the torn groin that kept him out for all of last season, a source tells NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. While Badgley has made a full recovery, he's now set to become a free agent next week. With the 29-year-old out of commission all year, Jake Bates served as Detroit's regular kicker and was very reliable, missing only three of his 29 field-goal attempts in 17 regular-season games while missing three of his 67 extra-point attempts in his first year in the league. Because of how good Bates looked in 2024, it's likely that the Lions will let Badgley walk in free agency as he heads into his eighth year in the NFL. Badgley has a career 82.4 percent success rate on 119 field-goal attempts in 64 games played. In four games with Detroit in 2023, he made all four of his FGs and went 13-for-15 on extra points.
Mar 4, 2025 3:15 PM EST
Detroit Lions kicker Michael Badgley (hamstring) was officially placed on injured reserve. While the team has already acknowledged his injury was season-ending, the latest marks an official end to his 2024-25 campaign. The 26-year-old has played for the Chargers, Titans, Colts, Bears, and Lions since 2018. He's made 98 of his 119 kicks while also missing just seven of his 175 extra-point tries. Although Badgley isn't the best fantasy kicker, he's undoubtedly a better option than others. But now he's heading for surgery, with the Lions anticipated to quickly move to fill the position.
Jul 27, 2024 6:15 PM EST
With the news that Detroit Lions kicker Michael Badgley (hamstring) had suffered a significant season-ending hamstring injury, the Lions worked out a horde of potential replacements. During the workout, Detroit tried out Matt Ammendola, Lucas Havrisic, Matthew McCrane, and Andre Szmyt. Badgley didn't start for Detroit until Week 15 of the 2023 season, but he was a reliable option for them from then on. He went 7-of-7 on field goal attempts from that point forward while also knocking in 23-of-25 extra-point attempts. It is unclear which direction they will go to fill their need. Still, this situation requires monitoring as they project to be one of the highest-scoring offenses in 2024, and whoever ends up kicking for them will be a valuable asset for fantasy managers.
Jul 26, 2024 9:56 PM EST
Detroit Lions kicker Michael Badgley (hamstring) reportedly suffered a torn hamstring getting ready for practice on Thursday. According to Ian Rapoport, the injury will force Badgley to miss the entire season and the Lions will now try out new kickers to take his place. The 28-year-old joined the Lions in 2022 and appeared in 12 games while playing four games for them in 2023. Riley Patterson played in 12 games for the Lions last season, so he may be one of the kickers trying out for the spot this season. For now, fantasy managers will have to wait and see who wins the position in Detroit.
Jul 26, 2024 8:54 AM EST
Free-agent kicker Michael Badgley has returned to the Detroit Lions by signing an undisclosed one-year deal with them on Thursday, according to his agent. Badgley only appeared in four games for the Lions in 2023, going 4-for-4 on his field-goal tries while making 13 of his 15 extra-point attempts. The 28-year-old spent most of the season on the practice squad before he replaced Riley Patterson for the final four games of the regular season and the playoffs. In total, he made all seven of his field goals and went 24-for-26 on his extra points last year. Badgley isn't just going to be handed the starting kicker job in 2024, most likely having to compete with another kicker that Detroit brings in this offseason.
Feb 22, 2024 7:16 PM EST
Detroit Lions kicker Michael Badgley began kicking for the team in Week 15, and he's averaged just 6.5 fantasy points per game in four starts. The veteran has made all four of his field goal attempts and connected on 13 of his 15 extra-point tries. Since Dan Campbell took over the team in 2021, Detroit has led the NFL in fourth down attempts, meaning their placekickers have often been given limited opportunities to score field goals. Needless to say, Badgley has limited upside against the Rams on Wild Card weekend, so he can be avoided in DFS contests.
Jan 11, 2024 3:43 PM EST
The Detroit Lions signed kicker Michael Badgley from their practice squad to the 53-man active roster on Friday. In corresponding moves, the team waived fullback Jason Cabinda, signed offensive lineman Michael Schofield to the practice squad and released defensive lineman Chris Smith from the practice squad. It solidifies Badgley's role as the Lions' primary field-goal kicker for the final two regular season games and the playoffs. The 28-year-old has made his only field-goal attempt and nine of his 10 extra-point tries in two games since taking over for Riley Patterson. The Dallas Cowboys, the Lions' Week 17 opponent, have been pretty generous to opposing kickers in the last five weeks, but overall in 2023 they've been a bad matchup for the position. Fantasy managers should have better options than rolling out Badgley in championship matchups.
Dec 30, 2023 12:18 PM EST
The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms on an undisclosed deal with free-agent kicker Michael Badgley on Tuesday and waived kickers Caleb Shudak and Trey Wolff in corresponding moves. Shudak and Wolff had been competing for the kicking job in training camp and the preseason, but the Titans will now go with Badgley, at least to start the year. Badgley was released by the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders this summer. The 28-year-old made 20 of 24 field-goal attempts as the Detroit Lions' primary kicker last year. He's also spent time with the Colts, Chargers and Bears in his career and has an 81.7% success rate on his 115 kicking attempts over five NFL seasons. Badgley should be left to the waiver wire in 12-team fantasy leagues to begin the year.
Aug 22, 2023 3:18 PM EST
Washington Commanders kicker Michael Badgley was released by the team on Sunday, meaning veteran kicker Joey Slye will handle the kicking duties for the third consecutive season. Slye finished outside the top 20 in total fantasy scoring among kickers in each of the last two seasons, so he won't be on the fantasy radar until further notice.
Aug 20, 2023 1:17 PM EST
The Commanders signed Badgley on Monday, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports.
Jul 24, 2023 4:25 PM EST
The Lions are releasing Badgley on Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Jul 20, 2023 10:02 AM EST
Badgley converted two of three field-goal attempts and both of his PATs during Sunday's 20-16 loss to Detroit.
Jan 9, 2023 9:16 PM EST
Badgley converted two of two field-goal attempts and five of five PATs during Sunday's 41-10 win over the Bears.
Jan 1, 2023 2:04 PM EST
Badgley converted his only field-goal attempt and two of two PATs during Saturday's 37-23 loss to the Panthers.
Dec 25, 2022 8:24 AM EST
Badgley converted two of three field-goal attempts and two of two PATs during Sunday's 20-17 win over the Jets.
Dec 18, 2022 2:23 PM EST