The Lions tried out kickers today to determine who would replace the injured Jason Hanson and, according to The Detroit Free Press, Dave Rayner has won the job.
Former Michigan State kicker Dave Rayner said he will sign with the Lions this afternoon as a replacement for Jason Hanson. Rayner won a kicking battle with Shaun Suisham today.
Rayner spent the 2008 preseason with the Lions and last kicked in the regular season that year with the Bengals, making his only attempt from 26 yards.
Rayner has big kicking shoes to fill, but should be a welcome addition considering he's a former Michigan State Spartan. On second thought, Spartans haven't been very kind to the Lions recently -- Julian Peterson was flagged for that stupid late hit on Sunday, Drew Stanton made an errant throw on a play the Lions should've ran the ball and Paul Edinger's late field goal to keep the Lions out of the 2000 playoffs still gives me nightmares. And it's hard to forget Charles Rogers when he keeps popping up in police reports every few months, even though we try. I digress.
There's no timetable on Hanson's injury, but it's possible that he winds up on the injured reserve. If that's the case, you could very well be looking at the Lions kicker for the next eight weeks. Welcome aboard, Mr. Rayner.