As UFL star and former Michigan Panther kicker Jake Bates was drilling ridiculously long field goals during the season, fans were hoping their team would sign him.And they finally Tomas Hertl Jersey got their wish last month, when the Lions beat out multiple teams to land the big-legged kicker in free agency following the conclusion of the 2024 UFL season.So, why did Bates choose the Lions? He recently touched on that during an appearance on the podcast.Detroit really felt like home, even outside of all that (attention), it felt good, Erik Karlsson Kids Jersey Bates said. And theres no real words to describe what that feeling is, it just felt good. The people there were awesome. Obviously, you cant let yourself listen to that too much because you never know. But, no, it was awesome.I think there was a lot of things that went into it, Bates added later. Theres a whole thing that after everything that happened and we Joe Pavelski Kids Jersey went through that whole proce s, my agent and I sat down and he was super helpful through everything theres just a bunch of different things. Every situation is different. Thats just where we felt most at home, most comfortable.Something else that obviously factored into Bates' decision was the opportunity to start in Detroit. Bates is set to compete for the starting job against veteran Michael Badgley, who apparently did enough over Brandon Bollig Men Jersey the spring to be the preferred choice over UDFA James Turner, who was waived in the wake of the Bates signing.While Badgley obviously has the advantage in experience, Bates has the big leg the Lions are looking for. However, he's going to have to prove he can consistently make kicks if he wants to Brandon Mashinter Jersey unseat Badgley as the starter in training camp.