The Lions’ decision to cut Riley Patterson took him to Jacksonville in August 2022. Nearly a year later, Detroit will step in to prevent Patterson from hitting the waiver wire.
After the Jaguars announced they were leaving Patterson – complete with the usual farewell tweet – They made an agreement to sell him to the Lions. Patterson played seven Lions games during the 2021 season. The Jags replaced Patterson with the longtime Bronco Brandon McManus earlier on Thursday.
Patterson brought rare kicker stability to the Jaguars last season, kicking in all 19 games for the team after seven kickers came through from 2020-21. McManus obviously brings Jacksonville a lot more experience, but the team will still accumulate an asset for his 2022 kicker. The Lions send the Jags a late-round pick: ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. According to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (Am Twitter).
The Lions initially dropped Patterson from the Patriots practice team in November 2021. The former Memphis-based UDFA then ended the season as Detroit’s main kicker. Patterson scored 13 of 14 field goals for the Lions that year, but the team didn’t let him retire last season. In Jacksonville, Patterson made 30 of 35 field goal attempts during the regular season and missed just one extra point (36 of 37). He also scored a game-winning field goal, completing the Jags’ 27-point comeback win over the Chargers in the wild card round.
Patterson, 23, will be making a base salary of $940,000 this season. It can be taken over next year by RFA tender. The Jags offered Patterson as an ERFA in March, but the Broncos’ decision to drop McManus — partly due to cap savings since they earmarked him for a post-June 1 layoff — changed the AFC South team’s plans . It will also affect the way the Lions play at kicker.
At the signing of XFLer John Parker Romo The Lions set up two kickers last week. They finished last season with Michael Badgley in this role. Badgley played 12 games for the Lions last season and re-signed with the team in March. Badgley is tied to a one-year, $1.2 million contract. The Lions guaranteed their incumbent just $350,000, opening the door to exciting competition. Badgley fired 20 of his 24 shots as a Lion last year; both he and Patterson earned a 2-3 win from more than 50 yards.
This trade allowed Detroit to avoid losing Patterson via the waiver; The Lions’ 9-8 result secured them 18th place in the waiver order.