The Los Angeles Chargers have been without Michael Badgley to begin the season and it doesn't seem his return is imminent. According to Tom Pelissero, Los Angeles has signed kicker Chase McLaughlin.

Since the preseason, Badgley has been nursing a groin injury. As a result, the Chargers placekicker has missed the first four games of the season for the team this year.

Last season, in his rookie campaign, Badgley was highly efficient for Los Angeles. The former Miami Hurricane made 15 of his 16 field-goal attempts—including a 59-yard bomb in 2018.

Additionally, Badgley was nearly automatic on his extra-point tries by making 27 of his 28 attempts last season. Without him making kicks, Ty Long has been tasked with kicking and punting for the Chargers this season.

In Badgley's absence, Long has made seven of his nine field-goal attempts this season. The undrafted punter has also made all nine of his extra-point attempts. Plus, Long has punted it 10 times for 493 yards to begin the season.

The Chargers likely believed that Long was overwhelmed with doing kicking and punting for even longer. Thus, signing McLaughlin could prove to be beneficial for the team in the coming weeks.

McLaughlin is an undrafted rookie out of Illinois that was showed some promise in college. The Illinois product made 44 of his 59 field-goal attempts and never missed any of his 79 extra-point tries in his three seasons in college.

With Badgley, Los Angeles needs some insurance at the kicker position until their starter is healthy. At the least, they have an offense that can provide them with more touchdowns than field goals until Badgley makes his awaited return.