ALLEN PARK, Mich. – This was never going to end well in Detroit for Nate Freese.

Not after a shaky start to the preseason. Not after he missed three field goals in the first two weeks from 40 yards or further. And certainly not after Sunday, when Freese missed another field goal from 40-plus yards, dropping him to 0 of 4 from a length that has to be makeable for a reliable NFL kicker.

It became apparent Detroit’s coaching staff lost faith in the rookie drafted in the seventh round in May after Lions coach Jim Caldwell said the team would be evaluating all options for the second straight week. That he said the team would have a decision soon on Sunday also was a poor sign for the rookie.

And it’s a tough deal for him. Kicker, along with punter and quarterback, are the most solo positions on the roster and the one where poor production is blatantly obvious to everyone involved. When it’s a kicker, it’s even rougher because chances are the team doesn’t have a ton invested in the player.

So if he isn’t producing -- and Freese was not producing on any level over the first three weeks of the season -- he wasn’t going to have a job for much longer.

Detroit, in some ways, got lucky over the past three weeks. Freese’s errant leg did not cost them a game, although his two misses against Carolina certainly changed the tenor of the Lions’ only loss. But most games in the league are decided by one possession or less.

And when you have a kicker who is not hitting field goals and does not have a track record of professional consistency that gives you the idea he can work his way out of it, it is tough to keep him around.

So in his place, the Lions will sign Alex Henery, a former fourth-round draft pick who lost his job in Philadelphia last month. Henery has shown the ability to make field goals in clutch situations and to be consistent throughout a season.

That, more than anything, is what the Lions need from a kicker right now as they continue to find a replacement for Jason Hanson, who retired after the 2012 season. Detroit is hoping Henery ends up being it.