The Detroit Lions waived undrafted rookie kicker James Turner on Tuesday, however they could see him once more quickly. On Thursday, the Inexperienced Bay Packers have been awarded Turner after placing in a declare for him on waivers, in response to the official transaction wire. At the moment, waiver wire precedence is set from final 12 months’s outcomes, so Inexperienced Bay had twenty fifth precedence—which means no less than 24 groups handed on Turner.
Detroit opted to chop Turner after they have been in a position to signal former Michigan Panthers kicker Jake Bates following his spectacular season within the UFL. The Packers have been one of many groups who have been reportedly fascinated by signing Bates, so it’s not stunning to see them primarily get a second-hand kicker, as an alternative.
That mentioned, Turner definitely confirmed some promise whereas with the Lions throughout OTAs and minicamp. The previous Michigan Wolverine flashed his leg energy by making a handful of kicks from 55-60 yards with additional room to spare. Turner is ready to compete in Inexperienced Bay with veteran Greg Joseph and Anders Carlson
The Lions will enter coaching camp with Bates contending with final 12 months’s kicker Michael Badgley for the beginning job. Earlier this week, we did a roundtable dialogue debating who we expect will win the competitors. In brief, Bates could have a a lot larger ceiling, however with no school or highschool expertise kicking discipline objectives, he’s the larger wild card. In the meantime, Badgley has made 24-of-28 kicks with the Lions over the previous two seasons, and has an 82.4 % accuracy mark over his six-year NFL profession, together with 56-of-58 on discipline objectives 39 yards or shorter.
