ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Detroit Lions released kicker Alex Henery, coach Jim Caldwell announced during his Monday news conference, and the team will host three veterans in a workout Tuesday to find his replacement.

Henery missed three field-goal attempts in the Lions’ 17-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field on Sunday and was 1-for-5 in two games after replacing rookie Nate Freese.

Between Freese and Henery, the Lions have made only 4-of-12 field goal attempts s in 2014.

From 1980 to 2012, a 33-season stretch, the Lions had only two kickers, Eddie Murray and Jason Hanson. After cutting Henery, they will look for their third kicker of the season.

“The fact of the matter, is we’re not going to make any excuses for where we are,” Caldwell said Monday. “We’ve just got to get better, and we’ve just got to win. That’s the key, and we haven’t done that.”

Matt Prater, Jay Feely and Connor Barth will be among the tryouts on Tuesday as the Lions look for an experienced replacement.

“It’s one of those things where we’ll look at it closely, and we’ve got to find a performer,” Caldwell said. “That’s basically what we have to get done in that area. We’ve got to get a guy who’s consistent under pressure and be able to put points on the board.

“In this league, there are going to be close games. A guy in that position is going to decide a number of games, and we’ve got to make certain we get the right guy for us.”

Caldwell hasn’t had many kicker problems during his years in the NFL, starting with Martin Gramatica in Tampa Bay. In Indianapolis, he had Mike Vanderjagt and “the crème de la crème” with Adam Vinatieri, and Justin Tucker had two great seasons in Baltimore.

“The thing is, there’s somebody out there for us that’ll do the job for us,” Caldwell said. “We’ve just got to see if we can track him down quickly.”

REPORT CARD VS. BILLS

PASSING OFFENSE: D — With Calvin Johnson missing the second half because of an ankle injury, Golden Tate was the only receiver who could create separation, but his career-high 134 yards weren’t enough. Matthew Stafford couldn’t stretch the field at all, going 18 of 31 for 221 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also suffered six sacks and had two fumbles, though didn’t lose either.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C — The Lions ran for only 69 yards, and former practice-squader George Winn led the way with 11 carries for 48 yards. The Lions continues to struggle running the ball, but the coaches had no faith in the ground game after Reggie Bush exited in the fourth quarter.

PASS DEFENSE: C — Rashean Mathis’ pick-6 helped, but the Lions were picked apart by Kyle Orton in the second half. Rookie receiver Sammy Watkins also looked great with five catches for 87 yards, and Marquise Goodwin burned Lions cornerback Darius Slay for a 42-yard gain that set up a touchdown.

RUSH DEFENSE: A — The Lions allowed only 49 yards on 22 carries, especially impressive considering the Bills’ talented backfield. Linebacker DeAndre Levy had 13 tackles, but even after shutting down the run, the Lions couldn’t contain the Bills offense.

SPECIAL TEAMS: F — Jeremy Ross had a couple nice returns, and Sam Martin continued to punt and kick off well. But Alex Henery missed three field goals, including a potential game-winner from 50 yards with 21 seconds left, leading to his release on Monday.

COACHING: C-minus — The Bills made much better adjustments in the second half. Jim Caldwell could’ve shown better clock management to prevent the Bills from having a chance at the end of regulation. He also should have challenged Marquise Goodwin’s 42-yard catch instead of calling a time out when the Lions had 12 men on the field.