Prater Hoping To Stay With Lions As Long As Possible: 'I Feel Like I Owe Them'
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - The Detroit Lions released two kickers - Nate Freese and Alex Henery, who went a combined 4 of 12 - before they picked up Matt Prater, a Pro Bowl selection in 2013 who had started the 2014 season on a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
While unable to play, Prater spent his time working on his issues with alcohol. Focused on correcting his off-field problems, he had been away from football for several weeks when he came to Detroit on a one-year contract.
Prater got off to a rough start, missing two of three field goal attempts in his first game as a Lion. From there, he performed well, converting 20 of his next 23 tries in the regular season and going 2-for-2 in Sunday's playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
With the season over, Prater is a free agent, but he makes no secret of the fact he would like to return for the Lions in 2015. In fact, Prater said he would like to finish out his career with Detroit, the organization that took a chance on him.
"It was awesome," Prater said. "I had other teams interested, too. I really wanted to come here because I saw it was a great team, and Coach [Jim] Caldwell and Bono [special teams coordinator John Bonamego] and everyone, I wanted to come here to work with them. They put a lot of trust in me, so I didn't want to let them down.
"Now I feel like I owe them," Prater added, "so I want to stay here as long as I can."
Monday, the day after Detroit's season ended, Caldwell would not disclose how high of a priority it is for the Lions to re-sign Prater. He did, however, speak highly of the kicker.
"He did a tremendous job," Caldwell said. "When he came in he solved some problems for us. He started out a little bit up-and-down, and then at the end he was strong. He did a nice job. He functioned like we knew he was capable of functioning. He helped us out a lot and obviously helped us win some ball games that were key."
Prater seemed satisfied with his overall performance as well, though he clearly had not forgotten his occasional shortcomings.
"Obviously there's always going to be a couple kicks you wish you had back, like the one against Chicago that I hit low and it got blocked, which is all on me," Prater said. "The long one at New England, the 50-yarder. I expect to make all those kicks. Besides the first game, I think it was pretty good for the most part. There's always room for improvement, so I'll get the tape and watch all the film and learn from the good kicks and the bad kicks because if you're not improving ... you're actually getting worse, in my opinion. You've got to learn from the positive and the negative so you don't repeat mistakes."
Prater gave the Lions what they needed on the field, and he also has his life together off the field, he said Monday.
"After losing a job and everything else I've gone through this year, it's just not worth it," Prater said. "One of those things where I can say I don't have a problem, but then the consequences I've had, there obviously is one, so I'm not messing with it. The guys here have been good about it. I don't put myself in bad situations where I'm anywhere - even if other people are drinking, I'm not around it. It's been good, and the guys here have helped, so it's been pretty good, and hopefully this offseason will stay the same.
"I'm getting married this offseason," Prater added, then joked, "so hopefully I'll stay clear that night, but I don't know."
It would be somewhat serendipitous for Prater to end up as Detroit's next long-term kicker, the next Jason Hanson, because Prater spent the first training camp of his career working alongside Hanson for the Lions.
Hanson visited with Prater several times this season, on one occasion watching him kick. Hanson texted Prater good luck before Sunday's game, and Prater replied, "Thanks. I'll need it." Hanson responding by expressing confidence in Prater, telling him to just approach the game his normal way and that he would be fine.
"He's been super-supportive," Prater said. "I was here with him a long time ago, and to this day he's still the best kicker I've ever worked with or kicked with. He's awesome. He's the best kicker I've ever been around - and a better person."
Prater appreciates the chance Detroit took on him, and he expressed a desire to repay them as much as he can.
"They trusted me, and when I first came here, Coach Caldwell talked to me about different things," Prater said. "Same with [general manager] Martin [Mayhew] and [team president] Tom [Lewand]. They put a lot of trust in me, and I didn't want to let them down for giving me a good opportunity to play here. I didn't want to let them down, also my teammates.
"I'd love to stay here and finish out my career," Prater continued. "I've had a lot of fun with the players and the coaches. It's been a fun place to work ... I'm going to miss it this offseason."