The Los Angeles Chargers need a hand on their special teams. They got one in the form of free agent kicker Mike Badgley, who signed a deal with the team on Thursday to be a temporary replacement for the injured Caleb Sturgis, according to a report by Adam Schefter of ESPN.
With veteran kicker Caleb Sturgis nursing a strained quad, the Chargers are signing free agent kicker Mike Badgley, league sources tell @FieldYates and me. Sturgis will not be cut, however, as the Chargers will carry two kickers on their active roster.
Mike Badgley did not hear his name called in this year’s NFL Draft, but was signed by the Indianapolis Colts back in April. He was not able to make the team’s final 53-man roster cut, though, as he was waived on Sep. 2. Now comes a chance for the former Miami Hurricanes kicker to prove he belongs in the big league, as the Chargers will trust him for extra-point and field goal opportunities.
Although Bagley is not guaranteed to be the Chargers’ starter for the rest of the season with Sturgis still in the team’s fold, he can at least start building a solid resume. The earliest he can take the field will be this weekend on the road against the Cleveland Browns.
Badgley played four years of college football in Miami and was named to back-to-back ACC third-team all-conference in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, his sophomore year, Badgley made 25-of-30 field goal attempts to set a new school record.
