ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Situations like the one that unfolded during the past week with new Detroit Lions kicker Matt Prater don’t happen too often.

Rarely does a player of his caliber -- a Pro Bowler -- become available in the middle of the season. But Prater plays a position where teams carry only one player and the Broncos, for reasons from money to youth to a football decision, chose to stick with the player they replaced Prater with.

For a team like the Lions, one in desperate need of a good kicker after Nate Freese and Alex Henery both booted their way off the roster, it seemed like a good fit and a symmetrical one, since the Lions were the first team to give Prater a chance in 2006.

Prater lost out to Jason Hanson that year -- kickers always lost out to Hanson with the Lions -- but that interaction left an impression.

“I’m looking forward to talking to Jason because I heard he comes around a lot,” Prater said. “So I’m thankful to him because I learned a lot in the few months I was here with him. To this day, he was the best kicker I’ve ever been around.

“It’ll be nice to see him and catch up with him.”

The Lions are hoping Prater can kick as well as Hanson, too. That’s why they brought the 30-year-old in. They’ve been searching for a replacement since Hanson retired following the 2012 season. For a franchise that had such kicking stability for two decades with Hanson, the instability there the past two seasons was somewhat of a shock.

Consider the Lions have been through more kickers in the past 12 months than they had in the past two decades before that.

So when Prater made his 58-yarder in a tryout Tuesday and beat out Jay Feely and Connor Barth for the job, it meant he was the latest and most likely heir apparent to Hanson. Prater also had the benefit of having Sam Martin hold for him during his tryout because he was at the facility.

While that was coincidence, kickers like Prater don’t come around every day. And other Lions players know that, too.

“Hey man,” safety Glover Quin said. “It’s meant to be.”