Who Should I Start? Michael Badgley or Jude McAtamney

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.

Saturday, November 2, 7:07 PM

New York Giants kicker Jude McAtamney has been elevated from the practice squad ahead of the Week 9 matchup against the Washington Commanders. The Giants are having trouble keeping kickers healthy as they're now on the third kicker. Graham Gano (quad) suffered an injury during the season opener which allowed Greg Joseph (abdomen) to get into the picture, but now he's on the injured reserve. The assumption is that McAtamney will remain the kicker for a few games, assuming he does well. He won't be an ideal streaming option given the Giants struggles on offense this season.