The Lions made what some found to be a surprising move roughly one month ago when they promoted kicker Michael Badgley from the practice squad to replace starter Riley Patterson.
Patterson was released and Badgley officially took over as the Lions' kicker in Week 15 against the Broncos. He's remained in that role ever since.
"What that did mean is, internally, we had [Patterson and Badgley] competing in practice. So they would each get roughly six kicks a day and we would kick them at least twice a week, so 12 kicks a week," special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said at the time.
"Over the course of six weeks, Badgley had been better. We didn't want to rush to make that decision right away, we felt like he deserved as fair of an opportunity as we could've given him. But it was clear at the end of the day that he was playing better."
Since then, Badgley has made every field goal he has attempted and all but two of his extra points as he prepares to suit up against the 49ers in the NFC championship game.
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Here's a look at what to know about Badgley and his statistical breakdown.
Michael Badgley career stats
An undrafted free agent, Badgley started his career with the Colts after finishing his college career at Miami, where he made the 2017 All-ACC First Team. He remains Miami's all-time leading scorer.
The Colts waived him before he ever had the chance to take the field in Indianapolis. He caught on with the Chargers in Week 6 of the 2018 season and functioned as their kicker through '20. He was let go after a rough final campaign and spent one game in Tennessee before returning to the Colts in Week 6 of '21. He finished that season as their primary kicker, but he was again looking for a job after the '22 season started. He had a one-game stint with the Bears before eventually catching on with the Lions in Week 7, where he remained through the end of the year. He didn't kick again until Detroit brought him back in Week 15 this season.
All told, Badgley, who's earned the nickname "Money Badger" has spent time with the Chargers, Titans, Colts, Commanders' practice squad, Bears, and Lions.
Below is how he's performed by the numbers over the years.
| Year | Team | FGM | FGA | FG% | XPM | XPA |
| 2018 | Chargers | 15 | 16 | 93.8% | 27 | 28 |
| 2019 | Chargers | 13 | 16 | 81.3% | 19 | 19 |
| 2020 | Chargers | 24 | 33 | 72.7% | 36 | 39 |
| 2021 | Titans/Colts | 18 | 22 | 0%/85.7% | 39 | 40 |
| 2022 | Bears/Lions | 24 | 28 | 100%/83.3% | 33 | 33 |
| 2023 | Lions | 4 | 4 | 100% | 13 | 15 |
Michael Badgley 2023 stats by distance
Badgley has been mostly reliable throughout his career inside the 30 and between the 30-39 yard range, posting only two misses from those distances to this point in his career.
He has missed a total of 11 field goals on 48 tries between the 40 and the 49 and made just five-of-13 attempts from 50-plus yards out.
| Distance | FGM | FGA | FG% |
| Inside 30 yards | 27 | 28 | 96.4% |
| 30-39 | 29 | 30 | 96.6% |
| 40-49 | 37 | 48 | 77% |
| 50-plus | 5 | 13 | 38.4% |
