Week 1 of the regular season is set to be fully underway on Sunday as the Detroit Lions are set to travel for an NFC North contest against the Green Bay Packers. At the same time, former Lions are making headslines all over the league all over the league. On Friday, Za'Darius Smith signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, and another ex-Detroit player got a promotion, too.
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported that the Buffalo Bills are placing kicker Tyler Bass on injured reserve. In his place, former Lions leg Matt Prater is set to kick for them on Sunday.
Former Lions K Matt Prater Will Be the Bills Kicker in Week 1
Prater joined the Bills' practice squad on Thursday, and he will be thrust into action immediately. Bass is dealing with pelvic soreness, and now he's expected to miss at least the first four weeks of the season. With him sidelined, Prater must step up.
Despite being the second-oldest player in the NFL behind Aaron Rodgers, Prater can still play. Last season with the Arizona Cardinals, he went 6-of-6 on field goal attempts and 10-of-10 on extra point kicks.
Prater has been around the league for a while, suiting up for 18 years. He spent seven seasons in the Motor City (2014-2020), notching a Pro Bowl appearance in that stretch. Over 107 career games with the Lions, he went 179-of-212 (84.4%) on his field goal attempts and 231-of-241 (95.9%) on extra-point attempts.
One of the biggest assets for Prater is his accuracy and power from deep. Prater has made 81 field goals from 50-plus yards away, which is an NFL record. He currently sits at 1,808 career points, ranking 15th all-time.
Even if he's just going to be a short-term starter over in Buffalo, the fact that he was able to secure a roster spot this late in the offseason shows he still has juice left in the tank. Bass missed a lot of training camp for Buffalo, leading them to have rookie Caden Davis on the team before releasing him after two preseason games.
The Bills feel more confident rolling with the veteran kicker, and the numbers work in his favor. The former Lions kicker has been a model of consistency in the league, leading to him still getting jobs at 41 years old.
While he likely won't be there for the whole season, Prater has proven that he'll make the most of his last-minute opportunity this weekend.