Spencer Shrader‘s season-ending injury will force the Colts to make another change at kicker. After bringing in Shrader to replace Matt Gay, Indianapolis will turn to one of its former options to fill in for Shrader.
Michael Badgley is returning on what NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo report is an active-roster deal. Not kicking in a game since the 2023 season, Badgley previously kicked for the Colts in 2021. Badgley joined Dustin Hopkins and Matt Ammendola at a workout today, the Indianapolis Star’s Joel Erickson notes. Badgley participated in a Falcons workout last month but did not land the gig.
Most recently seeing game action with the Lions, Badgley played for the Colts in 2021. He kicked in 12 games for Indianapolis that season, replacing the injured Rodrigo Blankenship. Badgley kicked for the Bears and Lions in 2022 and stayed in Detroit in 2023, residing on the Lions’ practice squad for much of the season before eventually replacing Riley Patterson as the team’s primary kicker.
Now 30, Badgley is best remembered for a three-season Chargers stint. He has been a nomadic NFL specialist since that 2018-20 stretch. Badgley only attempted four regular-season field goals with the 2023 Lions, making them all. In 2022, he made 24 of 28 tries between stops in Chicago and Detroit. As a Colt in 2021, Badgley was 18-for-21. He has only made two 50-plus-yard field goals since his Chargers stint wrapped, going 2-for-4 in that span.
Shrader won the competition to replace Gay but went down during Indy’s Week 5 win over Las Vegas, suffering ACL and MCL tears. The Colts have a new coaching staff from Badgley’s 2021 stint, but GM Chris Ballard remains in place. The ninth-year GM will see if Badgley can help his resurgent team retain its current course. Hopkins is still searching for a gig after being a Browns cut in August; Ammendola has not kicked since a five-game cameo with the 2023 Texans.
This marks more kicker turnover for a Colts team that has not seen the same kicker complete three consecutive seasons in the role since Adam Vinatieri‘s retirement. Blankenship was out one game into his third season (2022), after missing most of 2021, while the team bailed on Gay’s four-year deal two seasons in. With Shrader on the shelf for a while, Badgley — who has not played a full season with a team since 2020 in Los Angeles — will hold the job for the time being.