Who Should I Start? Michael Badgley or Spencer Shrader

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.

Thursday, March 13, 9:49 PM

The Indianapolis Colts announced on Thursday that they have signed free-agent kicker Spencer Shrader to an undisclosed deal. Shrader will return to Indianapolis after making all three of his extra points in the Week 1 loss to the division-rival Houston Texans. The 25-year-old also appeared in games with the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs in his first year in the NFL in 2024, going a combined 5-for-5 on field-goal attempts (zero attempts from 50-plus yards) and 9-for-9 on extra-point tries. Shrader didn't miss a single kick, but it was also a small sample size. He was brought in to compete with veteran Matt Gay this summer after Gay made just 83.8 percent of his 37 field-goal attempts in his second year with the team. Whoever wins the competition should be left to the waiver wire in 12-team fantasy leagues.