The Untold Story Of Detroit Lions Kicker Jake Bates..
Before joining the Detroit Lions as a free agent after a successful run with the Michigan Panthers in the United Football League, kicker Jake Bates was close to walking away from football entirely.
Bates played college football at Texas State and later at Arkansas, but never attempted a field goal in his college career. He had brief stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans before eventually being released by both teams.
Following his unsuccessful stints with the Bucs and Texans, who he drilled a game-winner against on Sunday night, Bates thought his football dream was over and was working as a brick salesman, as he told Kyle Meinke of MLive.com.
“I was working as a brick salesman in Houston,” Bates said. “I thought the dream was dead. … I thought football was done, so I had to move on and do something else with my life. Luckily, the Lord had something else in store.
But Bates got another opportunity to play football in the UFL with the Panthers, where he made the most of his chances. On almost a weekly basis, Bates was drilling ridiculously long field goals, which caught the attention of NFL teams.
Bates was able to parlay his impressive showing in the UFL into a contract with the Lions, who brought him in to compete with veteran kicker Michael Badgley.
However, Badgley went down with a season-ending injury, which opened the door for Bates to secure the starting job. The Lions kicker saw his fair share of struggles during training camp and the preseason, but the team continued to show faith in him and it has paid off big time.
Through nine games, Bates is a perfect 14-for-14 on his attempts, which include three makes from 50-plus yards. Two of those attempts came in Week 10, with one tying the game and the other winning it. Bates now has two game-winners after also drilling one against the Minnesota Vikings.
It’s the stories like Bates’ that make the NFL even better than it already is. A guy who once thought his career was dead is now performing on the biggest stage.