On Day 3 of training camp practice for the Detroit Lions, the kicker competition they had is not one anymore. Michael Badgley suffered what has been reported to be a torn hamstring while getting ready for Thursday’s practice, and he will be out for the season after surgery.

That leaves Jake Bates as the only healthy kicker on the Lions’ roster, for now anyway. He took advantage of the opportunity on Thursday, making all six of his field goal attempts as he was the only one to do any kicking during practice. Now we know why Badgley did not do any kicking.

Head coach Dan Campbell said some kickers have already been in for a workout, but “we’re not in a hurry” to sign someone. He of course did not name who those kickers were.

Bates still has a lot to prove. Before kicking for the Panthers in the UFL, he had not kicked a field goal since high school. Campbell noted, via Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News, how they’ll do the best they can to put Bates in pressure situations during camp, but he likes what he sees so far.

“The only way you’re going to know is you got to put him out there and you gotta see how he does, and that’ll come,” Campbell said. “Right now, he looks pretty good, and it’s early, but he has a big leg and I like his personality, his aura. I mean, he’s got some confidence about him, which is nice. He seems pretty consistent about the way he goes about his business, kind of the same guy every day, which I appreciate.”

Who the Lions end up signing to replace Badgley will say everything about the level of competition Bates will face for the job. There aren’t a ton of options out there at this point, so the current timing, well before other teams make many roster cuts, isn’t ideal in that regard.

#Lions worked out kickers Matt Ammendola, Lucas Havrisik, Matthew McCrane and Andre Szmyt

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) July 26, 2024

Let’s take a look at five kickers, including someone? they’ve had in for a workout within hours of the injury news?, the Lions could bring in to replace Badgley.

5 kickers the Lions could sign to replace Michael Badgley

5. Mason Crosby

In hindsight, the Packers might regret not bringing Crosby back for at least one more year last year. He remained available well into last season though, passing through the Los Angeles Rams in December before kicking the final three games for the New York Giants (6-for-7 on extra points, 5-for-7 on field goals).

Crosby’s long-range field goal volume has naturally dropped as he has gotten older, but unless Dan Campbell makes a dramatic shift in philosophy that probably won’t matter in terms of appeal to the Lions as an option to at least come in to camp. In comparison to another older kicker who’s out there (Ryan Succop), Crosby was at least on a roster and kicked last season.

4. Brandon McManus

We can’t mention McManus without mentioning a big elephant in the room. He has been accused by two women of sexual assault on a cross-country flight to London when he kicked for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022. The Washington Commanders signed him in free agency this year, and they cut him quickly when the news of the lawsuit by the alleged victims surfaced.

McManus’s attorney immediately issued a statement calling the allegations “absolutely fictious and demonstrably false”. Where the legal process is (or isn’t) right now is unclear, with no new developments since the allegations and lawsuit surfaced followed by Washington cutting him, but discipline from the NFL is possible should McManus sign with a team.

If not for the off-field issue, which should not be downplayed, McManus would still be the Commanders’ kicker. Should the legal process reach a conclusion, he’d be the best kicker available without question.

Within the bubble of the Lions’ current circumstance without Badgley, such as they want to have a experienced, serious challenger for Bates in camp, McManus would be No. 1 on this list without the troubling allegations against him.

3. Brett Maher

It’s been a bit of a journey for Maher since he missed four field goals for the Dallas Cowboys in a Wild Card playoff game against Tampa Bay after the 2022 season. He landed briefly with the Denver Broncos last offseason, before landing with the Los Angeles Rams and kicking in eight regular season games for them last year. He was released by the Rams in October, then they re-signed him for the playoff game against the Lions. He made all five of his kicks in that game, two extra points and three field goals from under 30 yards out.

Maher went 17-for-23 on field goals and 13-for-15 on extra points for the Rams last year in the regular season, with four misses from 50-plus yards out (3-for-7). In 2022 with Dallas, he made over 90 percent of his field goals overall and went 9-for-11 from 50-plus.

His case of postseason yips is hard to forget. But that doesn’t mean Maher is underserving of a shot in someone’s training camp, and a possible opportunity just opened up in Detroit.