Who Should I Start? Michael Badgley or Spencer Shrader

Saturday, July 27, 6:15 PM

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.

Saturday, September 7, 1:25 PM

The Indianapolis Colts elevated rookie kicker Spencer Shrader and cornerback Chris Lammons from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster on Saturday in advance of the Week 1 regular-season opener on Sunday against the division-rival Houston Texans. This is a clear sign that starting kicker Matt Gay (hernia), who is listed as questionable for Week 1, will end up being inactive on Sunday morning after he recently underwent surgery for a sports hernia. Gay is questionable to kick on Sunday, but he missed practice all week and is probably more doubtful than anything. Fantasy managers that were planning to use Gay in Week 1 should have already been looking for other options this weekend. Rolling with Shrader in his first NFL game would be unwise given all the other options available on the waiver wire.