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After a shaky start last year, Matt Prater settled in to finally become a solution of the Lionsโ€™ kicking woes in 2014. His strong finish also earned him a contract extension with he Lions.

According to the teamโ€™s website, Detroit re-signed Prater to a three-year deal worth an estimated $9M.

โ€œAs Matt got more acclimated with us, especially with Don (Mulbach) and Sam (Martin), he really became someone we could count on and was a positive contributor to our kicking game last season,โ€ head coach Jim Caldwell said in a statement. โ€œOur field goal unit made significant improvement with Matt as the season went on.

โ€œRe-signing Matt was definitely a priority for us. We are excited to bring him back, and we feel that both he and Sam (Martin) provides us with two valuable weapons in the kicking game.โ€

Additionally Prater instructed his agent to get a deal done with Detroit after the Lions gave him an opportunity following his off the field issues with the Broncos.

โ€œIโ€™ve already told my agent that I want to stay here because I enjoy it so much,โ€ he said. โ€œEveryone has been super good to me out here and I want to stay here.

โ€œI feel loyalty here because they gave me an opportunity, and I had a lot of fun being here. I love the team, the coaches, from the ownership, Martin (Mayhew), Tom (Lewand) and everyone. Iโ€™ve had a lot of fun.โ€

Rusty in his return to the field last year while going 1 for 3 in field goals against Minnesota, Prater finished the year 20 of 23 including hitting the game winner (on his second attempt) against the Atlanta Falcons in London.

h/t: DetroitLions.com