Saturday open thread: Will Randy Bullock be the Lions’ starting kicker in 2021?

The Lions signed Randy Bullock to a one year, $1.75 million deal earlier this March. Although he may look like the solution at the kicker position, he’s not necessarily.

Question of the day: Will Randy Bullock be the Lions’ starting kicker in 2021?

My answer: He will be, but he shouldn’t be.

Remember Nate Freese? The guy who was supposed to be Jason Hanson’s long-term successor. A “long-term successor” who would go on to be three of seven on field goals before losing his job. And then there was Alex Henery. He was one for five, including missing all three field goals against the Buffalo Bills in a 17-14 loss. Then there was David Akers. While he played an entire season as the Lions’ kicker, he was far from perfect and the team was fortunate to find Matt Prater afterwards.

Finding a long-term solution at kicker is far from an exact science, and the Lions are better off starting their search now in a season that won’t mean much. Bullock is in the twilight of his career, and with a relatively small leg for the NFL, he’s not going to be kicking into his late 30s like Matt Prater is. Bullock is a stopgap solution at best, and the Lions are best off not running a new kicker experiment once it’s time to play games that actually matter.

If the front office knows what’s best for them, they should test the kicker waters this upcoming draft, and if the guy is a bust, he’s a bust. If they can hit on a good one, however, then it will be a test of how good the new regime is at cutting their losses when it comes time to decide what to do with Randy Bullock.

Will Randy Bullock be the starting kicker in 2021? Let’s hear your thoughts.