Who Should I Start? Michael Badgley or Greg Joseph

Tuesday, March 4, 3:15 PM

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.

Sunday, January 5, 10:10 PM

New York Jets kicker Greg Joseph made his lone field-goal attempt and added three extra points in a 32-20 win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 18. Joseph was signed off of the Jets' practice squad earlier in the week and hit all of his kicks in the season finale. New York opened the season with Greg Zuerlein as their kicker, but he struggled with injuries and accuracy issues throughout the season. That being said, he is still under contract for one more season so he is likely to open 2025 as the Jets' kicker once again, leaving Joseph to pursue work elsewhere this offseason.