ALLEN PARK -- Jim Caldwell said he wouldn't wait long to determine the fate of struggling placekicker Nate Freese.

True to his word, the Detroit Lions already have settled on a change.

Detroit plans to release Freese on Monday, just hours after he missed a fourth field-goal attempt in three weeks, and sign Alex Henery to replace him.

Henery became the most accurate kicker in college history while at Nebraska from 2007-2010 -- where he was teammates with current Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. He converted 89.5 percent of his career field-goal attempts, and 96.7 percent of his field goal and point-after attempts, both records.

He was a fourth-round pick of the Eagles in 2011 and, unlike Freese, translated his success to the pros. He converted 88.9 percent of his attempts that year, an NFL record for a rookie.

Henery missed five field goals last year, though, and his accuracy dipped to 82.1 percent. He made just 1-of-3 attempts during the preseason this year and was released at the end of training camp.

Still, 82.1 percent would seem like a dream for the Lions. Freese made just three of his seven attempts to open the season, and didn't convert an attempt from longer than 30 yards.

He missed a 41-yarder to end the first half against Green Bay, and it proved to be his undoing in Detroit.

The Lions spent a seventh-round pick on Freese and were intent on letting him win the job during camp, when he was outkicked by Giorgio Tavecchio but was awarded the job anyway. Then they paid the price.

Detroit's rookie class is not off to a good start. Second-rounder Kyle Van Noy is on short-term injured reserve while recovering from surgery to repair a sports hernia; fourth-rounder Nevin Lawson is out for the year with dislocated toes; sixth-rounder TJ Jones is on PUP with nerve pain in his arm; and now seventh-rounder Freese has been cut.

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