INDIANAPOLIS – At the very least, Michael Badgley has earned a spot to lead off the Colts kicking competition in 2022.
The early signs indicate that there will be another kicking competition, with the belief that Badgley will be re-signed, too.
Unlike Rodrigo Blankenship (signed through 2022), Badgley is a free agent next month.
Badgley, 26, helped steady the Colts kicking situation last year, after Blankenship injured his hip in October. Badgley went 18-of-21 on field goals and a perfect 39-of-39 on extra points in his 12 games as the Colts kicker.
Even when Hot Rod returned to being healthy enough to kick last year, the Colts wisely stuck with Badgley.
Following the end to the 2021 season, Chris Ballard commented on the kicking situation.
“Rod gets hurt pregame in Baltimore,” Ballard explained of the freak-Week 5 injury to Blankenship. “He has a bad game because of it. It is what it is. He missed the extra point. He missed the game-winning field goal. He got his field goal blocked. We put him on IR. We bring Badgley in. Badgley ended up having a pretty good season. I wouldn’t say elite, but it was good.
“We will work through it. We still think Rod has good upside and I like Badgley. It’s too early to say what exactly what we will do, but we like both of those guys.”
Ballard made those comments before the team signed kicker Jake Verity to a futures contract last week.
So, if the Colts re-sign Badgley, they will have three kickers—Badgley, Blankenship, Verity—on their 90-man roster.
Verity was on the Baltimore practice squad as a rookie last season, behind the great Justin Tucker. Verity made 75 percent of his field goals in college (East Carolina), with several makes over 50 yards.
Re-signing Badgley should be a priority, but it sounds like the Colts are open to having some more placekicking competition in 2022.
