(Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire)
After making an impressive run during the 2023 NFL regular season to win the NFC North division title and then make it to the NFC Championship Game, the Detroit Lions have become one of the best teams in the league, with Super Bowl aspirations for the foreseeable future.
Last season, the Lions proved that they could live up to high expectations and that the future might be bright in Detroit with head coach Dan Campbell leading the way on the sideline and veteran quarterback Jared Goff leading the charge under center.
In 2024, Detroit will try to take a step further by reaching the Super Bowl in order to take on the best of the best in the AFC in hopes of winning the franchise’s first Super Bowl title, which would be a monumental moment for the team as well as the city.
Unfortunately, things have gotten off to a rough start as training camp gets underway for the Lions, with kicker Michael Badgley going down with a season-ending hamstring injury, which obviously is not ideal.
However, the up-and-coming squad was able to bring in a kicker that has been impressive right out of the gate for Detroit, with Jake Bates going perfect in practice and connecting on multiple long field-goal attempts, according to Woodward Sports Network.
Per @DetroitPodcast Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates went 6-6 during team periods today including multiple 50+ YD FG’s #OnePride pic.twitter.com/myyzpkNp9N
— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) July 25, 2024
Hopefully, for the Lions, Bates can seamlessly replace Badgley and help Detroit continue their dominance in the NFC while improving the team’s chances of being a legitimate title contender moving forward.
Only time will tell if Bates can handle the workload and if the Lions’ offense will be unaffected by Badgley’s loss.
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