By Michael Stets
Late in the second quarter of the Lions’ 20-15, Week 8 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Matt Prater made history after connecting on a 51-yard field goal, becoming the first kicker in NFL history with 20 field goals of 50 yards or more with two different teams.
The Lions are currently on a three-game losing streak and Prater, 33, said he would gladly trade in some individual glory for a much-needed win for his team.
“Yeah,” Prater told WJR this past week at Allen Park. “You get judged by wins and losses. I would not be happy if I missed a couple of kicks but if we won it kind of makes everything better the next day.”
He added: “Individually, you can have success and not win. So, at the end of the day you get judged by wins and losses. We needed to score more points.”
The 11-year veteran, who recently signed a three-year extension to remain in Detroit through 2020, was asked about his latest mention in the NFL record books. But he was more interested in giving credit and praise to his teammates than talking about his record-setting achievements.
“A lot more of it goes into it than just a kick,” Prater explained. “Mule [Don Muhlbach] does such a good job snapping, Sam [Martin] holding, the offense moving the ball to even have an opportunity to kick a field goal. Whenever I’m done–whenever that is–playing, I’ll look back, but as of now I don’t pay attention to all that stuff too much.”
You know, stuff like the longest field goal in NFL history at 64 yards, which he hit in 2013 while playing for the Denver Broncos. Or the 59-yard field goal he hit against the Chicago Bears in 2015, the longest field goal in Detroit Lion’s history. And being named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month in September, among many others. But the way Prater brushes off talk about his records, it’s as if those kicks were 30-yard chip shots as opposed to some of the longest field goals ever made.
“The hard part is kicking it straight, so it’s always a work progress,” he said. “I always try to do better and better as the year goes on.”
Staying in Detroit
In a sport like the NFL, stability can sometimes be hard to come by. Players sign with other teams and are traded or released all the time. Prater is now in his fourth season as a Lion, and with his new three-year deal, will be able to call Detroit home through 2020, which not only offers him stability, but his family too.
“I have my daughters in school here and It’s home for us for sure,” Prater said. “We are happy to be here. Anytime you have a few years added on where you know your kids aren’t going to have to switch schools or change their athletics and have to get to know a bunch of new people, it’s great comfort for my family and everybody else besides me.”
After last week’s game, Prater joined WJR’s Steve Courtney and Sean Baligian on the post-game show and brought along his son Pax.
“Yeah, that was fun,” Prater said. “I got a couple of pictures of him up there with me. Last year, he went up with me up at the podium I think it was the Minnesota game. It’s just cool being able to share some of those experiences with him. He probably won’t remember them because he’s not even two yet. Looking back, having pictures and saying, ‘Hey, you came up with me and did this and that.’ It will be fun looking back.”
Longevity
Prater, who began his career in Detroit as an undrafted rookie free agent out of The University of Central Florida, said his original goal was to play 10 years in the NFL. And now that he’s in year 11, he’s re-evaluating how long he plans to play.
“My goal was 10 and now I gotta change it,” he said. “It’s funny, practicing with the Colts [The Lions had two joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts during this past preseason] and Adam Vinatieri, who has obviously been around forever, he was basically saying he wanted to retire seven years ago. But they kept putting the right amount of money or whatever else in front of him to get him to play another year or two.”
He added: “I don’t know if I want to try and be like Jason Hanson or Adam Vinatieri, or Morten Anderson. We will see.”
With Vinatieri showing no signs of slowing down at 44 years of age, has that rubbed off on Prater as far as his future plans for how long he wants to continue playing?
“It’s possible for sure,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate that I haven’t been injured too much, knock on wood. My body is not too beat up. Everybody is different. As long as you are kicking it straight and can still hit a 50 or 55-yarder I think you will be around as long as you want. As long as your level of play isn’t dropping off too bad and you are not embarrassing yourself, theres nothing else I’d rather do. So, I’ll do it as long as I can.”
The 44-year-old Colts kicker was a big influence on Prater when he began kicking in high school, he said.
“I remember in high school when I started getting into kicking he was the guy in New England and had a bunch of those Superbowl kicks and the snow kick against Oakland at home (2001 AFC Divisional Playoff game). He was the clutch guy that I wanted to try to emulate a little bit.”
Vinatieri told WJR during the Lions/Colts practices in August that Prater was a “great kicker” and said the Lions are “in good hands.” Prater said he enjoyed the time he spent with Vinatieri.
“He and I just kind of hung out and talked about off-the-field things, hunting and different things like that,” Prater said. “He’s a good dude, a lot of fun to be around and getting to know him was a lot of fun too and getting to see him work.”
From starting in Detroit back in 2003, to short stints with both the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins, to landing back with the Lions as a free agent in 2014, and now signing a new three-year deal with the team, Prater said he has given thought to how his professional career has come full circle.
“For sure. Going from basically being a camp leg for Jason Hanson… It was good for me because I got to learn a lot from Jason and learn how to be a pro more so. And learn from him and take bits and pieces from him and Jay Feely and other guys, Jason Elam, and kind of mold it to works best for me, at least what I’m trying to do.”