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Buffalo Bills release kicker after costly missed extra points
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- Buffalo Bills release kicker after costly missed extra points
The Buffalo Bills decided there was no point in waiting any longer.
The Buffalo Bills released kicker Michael Badgley from the practice squad Monday, less than 24 hours after his missed extra point changed the course of their 13-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles .
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It ends a brief stint defined by missed extra points and and a late-game decision that underscored Buffalo's lack of trust in its kicking situation.
Buffalo signed Badgley , 30, to its practice squad on Dec. 16 and elevated him for the past two games with Matt Prater sidelined by a quadriceps injury.
Badgley spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers from 2018-20 before bouncing around the league with the Titans, Colts , Bears and Lions . He owns a career field-goal percentage of 83.2.
Earlier this season, Badgley appeared in seven games for Indianapolis, scoring 48 points while converting 10 of 11 field-goal attempts and 18 of 21 extra points. He was waived after missing an extra point — his third PAT miss of the season — in a Week 13 loss to the Houston Texans .
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Those extra-point issues followed him to Buffalo.
Dec 21, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Buffalo Bills kicker Michael Badgley (32) watches his missed extra point with holder Mitch Wishnowsky (19) during the first half against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field.
In the Bills' 23-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 16, Badgley missed an extra point off the left upright and failed to reach the landing zone on a kickoff. The miscues nearly proved costly , as Cleveland had two fourth-quarter possessions that could have tied the game with a field goal.
On Sunday, the margins tightened
Badgley's extra point attempt following Josh Allen's 2-yard touchdown run with 5:11 remaining was low and blocked by Jalen Carter , leaving Buffalo trailing 13-6. When Allen scored again on a quarterback sneak with five seconds left to make it 13-12, the earlier miss changed the game.
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Had Badgley converted the first extra point, the final touchdown would have tied the game. A second made PAT could have won it. Instead, Bills head coach Sean McDermott opted to go for a 2-point conversion attempt, gambling for the win rather than forcing overtime. Allen misfired to an open Khalil Shakir on the 2-point try.
"Wanted to be aggressive, going for the win," McDermott said. "We felt like only a certain amount of time left at that point, and felt like we had a great call, great opportunity to go win it, and I'm going to be aggressive, so I'm not going to sit back."
One day later, Buffalo made its own decisive call.
The Bills will have to sign another kicker for the regular season finale, and possibly the playoffs, if Prater is not healthy.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills release kicker Michael Badgley after missed extra points
