What's good for Jake Bates is good for James Turner.
The Detroit Lions signed Bates, a star kicker with the UFL's Michigan Panthers, this spring before placing Turner, a Saline native who won a national championship last season with Michigan football, on waivers.
The team later announced that Turner was acquired by the Green Bay Packers on Monday.
Turner was a second-team All-Big Ten selection for the Wolverines last season, connecting on 85.7 percent of his field goal attempts (18 of 21) and 98.5 percent of his extra-point attempts.
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Prior to his transfer to Michigan, Turner spent four seasons at Louisville, where he shot 79.7% from the field (47-of-59) and 98.4% from the extra point line (124-of-126) while earning All-ACC Third Team honors in 2022.
Turner, who signed with the Lions as an undrafted free agent, competed with Michael Badgley in minicamp before the Lions acquired Bates, who completed three of his five attempts for 60 yards with the Panthers this spring. Turner showed strong, accurate footwork with the Lions, but lacked polish on kickoffs.
The Packers relied on Anders Carlsson to kick the ball last season, and the 2023 sixth-round draft pick out of Auburn made 27 of 33 field goal attempts but was just 7 of 13 from beyond 40 yards and missed 5 of 39 extra-point attempts.
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