Dave Rayner And Brendan Gibbons Want Tryout With Lions
By: Terry Foster
@terryfoster971
Two former Michigan players want in on the Lions kicker competition. One played his ball at Michigan and the other played at Michigan State.
Former MSU kicker Dave Rayner wants in but cannot get a return phone call from the Lions who do not seem interested at this point.
The other guy is former Michigan kicker Brendan Gibbons who was essentially kicked off Michigan's campus after accusations of sexual misconduct.in 2013. Both are out of jobs and want a chance to kick in the NFL.
Rayner who turns 32 later this month has kicked with 10 NFL teams including the Detroit Lions. He has not kicked since 2011, missing two early season field goals with the Buffalo Bills. A shoulder injury also sidelined him and he was not retained.
Gibbons faces a tougher challenge. He is just 23 years old but no NFL team wants to touch him because of legal issues. He was arrested by Ann Arbor Police after being charged with rape. No charges were filed but local advocates stayed on the story and the school dismissed him in December, furthering speculation that he did something wrong.
The NFL has been hurt by sexual misconduct charges that have rocked the lead and led to suspensions of several players and an investigation on how the league handles domestic abuse charges.
I am not certain the Lions want to get involved with these issues right now.
The Lions released their second kicker of the season after Alex Henery missed three field goals during a 17-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field.
The Lions worked out Jay Feely, Alex Henery and Conner Barth.
