The Buffalo Bills will be beginning their season with a replacement kicker.
The Bills on Friday placed kicker Tyler Bass on injured reserve due to his hip and groin. He had been dealing with the injuries in training camp, which led Buffalo to work out some free agent kickers last week.
The Bills signed kicker Matt Prater to their practice squad on Thursday, and a day later they placed Bass on IR. That means Bass will miss at least the first four weeks of the season.
Prater will kick for the Bills in their opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night. The 41-year-old has kicked in the NFL since 2007 and is entering his 19th season in the league.
Prater is best known for his 7 years with the Denver Broncos, followed by a 7-year run with the Detroit Lions. He kicked for the Arizona Cardinals the last four seasons, though he only appeared in four games last season. Prater went 6/6 on field goals and 10/10 on extra points last season before suffering a torn meniscus injury.
A two-time Pro Bowl kicker, Prater has made 83.6 percent of his field goals in his career and 97.3 percent of his extra point attempts. The Bills are slight underdogs to the visiting Ravens in Sunday night’s game.
