Lions agree to deal with David Akers, according to report

The Detroit Lions have found their replacement at kicker for Jason Hanson. According to Dave Birkett, it’s David Akers, who visited the Lions earlier this week. Akers left without a deal, but with Hanson retiring on Thursday, the Lions reacted by getting something done with Akers on Friday.

My initial reaction to this news is that the Lions are downgrading in a big way by going from Hanson to Akers. While it’s true that Akers battled through injuries last season, he went 29-of-42 on field goals in 2012. He was so unreliable that the San Francisco 49ers nearly let him go during their playoff run, and they did decide to part ways with Akers this offseason.

Akers, who is 38, is a definite short-term solution to the Lions’ need for a new kicker. He presumably will be their starting kicker in 2013, but beyond that is anyone’s guess. The Lions still could draft somebody this year as added competition in training camp, but they seem set to move forward with Akers.

Currently, the details of Akers’ deal with the Lions are unknown.