Detroit Lions kicker Matt Prater (5). Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
The Detroit Lions signed kicker Matt Prater to a three-year contract extension Friday.
Terms were not disclosed, but NFL.com reported the deal is worth $9 million.
Prater landed in Detroit in October after spending the majority of his career with the Denver Broncos. He signed with the Lions after serving a four-game suspension for violation of the league’s substance-abuse policy. When his suspension ended, the Broncos cut him.
The 30-year-old holds the NFL record for longest field goal at 64 yards.
“As Matt got more acclimated with us, especially with Don (Muhlbach) and Sam (Martin), he really became someone we could count on and was a positive contributor to our kicking game last season,” Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said in a statement. “Our field goal unit made significant improvement with Matt as the season went on.
“Re-signing Matt was definitely a priority for us. We are excited to bring him back, and we feel that both he and Sam provides us with two valuable weapons in the kicking game.”
In 2014, Prater made 21 of 26 field goals during the regular season and was 2-of-2 in the playoffs. He has made 163 of 200 field goals in his career (81.5 percent) and has also made 11 of 13 field goals in the playoffs.
