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.

Wednesday, July 23, 9:58 PM

San Francisco 49ers kickers Jake Moody and Greg Joseph appear to be in a legitimate competition for the starting gig this fall. The two kickers are off to a strong start as they combined to go 8-for-8 on kicks during Wednesday's practice. They also both managed to knock down kicks from around 55 yards. Moody was selected 99th overall by the 49ers in 2023, but experienced a sophomore slump last season. He missed 10 field goal attempts and one extra point, which prompted the 49ers to bring in some competition. Joseph is a veteran kicker who has been around the league quite a bit. Last season, he knocked down 16-of-20 field goal attempts in eight games between three teams. Whoever wins this job should be worth rostering in fantasy leagues because it'll probably be a high-volume job.