The Lions exercised their 2017 contract option on kicker Matt Prater earlier this spring, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets. However, the decision didn’t change much for the veteran (Twitter link). Prater received his $750K as a bonus this year instead of base salary and his contract for 2017 is non-guaranteed. So, despite triggering Prater’s option, the Lions could part ways with him without penalty, if they so choose. 
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Prater, 32 in August, re-signed with the Lions on a two-year, $4.55MM deal which included a third-year team option. With the third year factored in, the overall value of the pact is believed to be roughly $9MM.
Prater began the 2014 season by serving a four-game suspension in Denver for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, and was ultimately cut by the Broncos, ending a seven-year tenure with the club. After signing with the Lions, Prater was a little shaky in his first few games, but settled down and ended up making 21 of 26 field goal attempts. In 2015, Prater sank 22 of his 24 field goal attempts while connecting on 36 of 39 extra point tries.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.