Lions Release Kicker Alex Henery
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - The Detroit Lions released kicker Alex Henery on Monday, fewer than 24 hours after Henery missed three field goals in a game the Lions lost, 17-14, to the Buffalo Bills.
All three misses came in the second half of Sunday's game, which the Lions at one point led by two touchdowns.
Henery's first miss came on Detroit's first drive of the second half. Henery's 44-yard attempt bounced off an upright. He got another opportunity in the middle of the third quarter, but his 47-yard attempt fell short. Henery's last chance for redemption came with a minute remaining in the game, which by then Buffalo had tied at 14. His 50-yard attempt, however, went wide left.
The kicker had also missed a kick against the New York Jets a week earlier, making him 1 for 5 with the Lions.
Lions head coach Jim Caldwell did not sugarcoat the situation after the game Sunday.
"It's a performance-based league, plain and simple, and you've got to perform," Caldwell said. "Anyone that doesn't, we take a look and see if we can improve that one way or another. That's our obligation to obviously our fans, our team, our organization, so we'll do just that."
Detroit had acquired Henery to replace rookie Nate Freese, whom the Lions drafted in the seventh round this season but then released after Freese went 3 for 7 in the first three games of the season.
Between Henery and Freese, Lions kickers are 4 for 12 this year.
"It's so hard when you're moving the ball and you finally get down there, you get into field goal range, and the fact you don't come [away] with points, one time is tough," left guard Rob Sims said Sunday, "but then three times is, you know what I mean, it's very, very hard to overcome."
Sunday's game was the second loss of the season for the Lions. In both defeats, kickers missed at least two field goals.