The Lions have released Freese, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports. To replace Freese, the Lions have signed Alex Henery, formerly of the Eagles, to handle the team's kicking duties.

The Lions plan to sign Alex Henery to replace Freese as their kicker, the Detroit Free Press reports. Freese struggled in his three-week stint with the Lions' this season, going 3-for-7 on field goal attempts overall, and 0-for-4 on kicks longer than 40 yards.

Freese made two of three field goal attempts in his NFL debut Monday in a win over the Giants. Freese hit a pait from inside 30 yards and missed a 43-yard attempt in the second quarter. Given how close the contest was for the job in training camp, this remains a situation worth monitoring if Freese struggles to connect from moderate-to-lengthy distance.

Following the release of Giorgio Tavecchio on Monday, Freese is in line to serve as the Lions' top kicker, the Detroit News reports. Freese, drafted by the Lions in the seventh round of May's draft, made all three of his preseason field goal attempts, including a 55-yarder against the Raiders on Aug. 15. Now that the competition has been settled, Freese merits fantasy consideration as long as the job is his, while working in a context where his prospects are supported by working behind the Lions' offense.

Freese converted an extra-point in Friday's preseason game versus the Jaguars. Freese made his only attempt Friday, while fellow kicker Giorgio Tavecchio missed a 51-yard field goal on his only involvement. With the Lions' kicking job seemingly still up for grabs, Freese will hope to make a strong final impression in Thursday's last preseason game.

Seventh-round rookie Nate Freese is favored to win the Lions kicking job. The Lions wouldn't have used a draft pick on a kicker if they didn't expect him to easily beat out Giorgio Tavecchio. Freese made all 20 of his field-goal attempts at Boston College last year and will be on the fantasy radar as a dome kicker in an explosive offense.

Lions signed No. 229 overall pick K Nate Freese to a four-year contract. Freese will compete with John Potter and Giorgio Tavecchio to replace David Akers. As a general rule, teams don't use draft picks on kickers they don't expect to win the job. Freese converted 70-of-81 (86.4 percent) field-goal attempts for Boston College.

Lions selected Boston College K Nate Freese with the No. 229 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft. Freese (5-foot-11, 192) was perfect as a senior, connecting on all 20 of his field-goal attempts. Across his four-year career, he went 70-of-81 (86.4 percent), finishing as BC's all-time leader in both field goals and points (317). He also handled kickoffs. Freese will compete with John Potter and Giorgio Tavecchio for the right to replace David Akers. Freese is the favorite.