Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said he was going to evaluate the team's situation at kicker after watching Caleb Sturgis struggle on Sunday and it appears that evaluation is going to end with Sturgis out of a job.
According to ESPN.com, Los Angeles has decided to cut ties with Sturgis in a move that comes less than 24 hours after the kicker's disastrous outing in Seattle. During the Chargers' 25-17 win over the Seahawks, Sturgis missed two extra points and a 42-yard field goal. The missed kicks almost allowed Seattle to make a stunning comeback, but that fell short when David Moore dropped a one-yard pass in the end zone on the final play of the game.
Despite the fact that his team escaped Seattle with a win, Lynn made it clear after the game that changes could soon be coming.
"He did not kick well today, so we have to re-evaluate that situation," Lynn said, via ESPN.com. "We'll see [Monday]."
The game against the Seahawks was Sturgis' first action in four weeks. After straining his quad in a Week 5 win over the Raiders, Sturgis spent three weeks healing before returning to the field on Sunday. Of course, even before his quad injury, Sturgis wasn't having a great season. The kicker missed a total of six extra points on the year, with four of those coming before his injury. Sturgis had also missed four field goals this season, with three of those coming before the injury.
With his showing against the Seahawks, Sturgis became the first kicker since 1979 to miss a field goal and an extra point in three straight games, and this is the part where I mention that the last kicker to pull off that feat was my dad (Jim Breech). I'm guessing that should make for some fun conversation when I catch up with him on the phone later this week.
As for the Chargers, they still seem to be stuck in some sort of kicking Bermuda Triangle. After going through four kickers last season, the team was hoping that Sturgis would be the answer in 2018. As a matter of fact, they liked him so much that they signed him to a two-year, $4.5 million contract that included $2.25 million in guaranteed money, according to ESPN.
Unfortunately for the Chargers, Sturgis wasn't the answer and now they'll be turning to someone else. The kicking job will likely go to Michael Badgley, who served as the team's kicker while Sturgis was injured. During his two games of action this season, Badgley was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals and 7-for-7 on extra points. Due to their history with kickers, the Chargers must have been half-expecting for something to go wrong with Sturgis because they actually stashed Badgley away on their practice squad.
The bad news for Badgley is that his first game back as Chargers kicker is going to come on one of the worst kicking surfaces in the NFL when L.A. travels to Oakland to play at the Coliseum on Sunday.