Former Chargers Kicker Suffers Season-Ending Injury in Training Camp
The Los Angeles Chargers have managed to dodge any major training camp injuries so far, but not every team has been so lucky. Preseason injuries are one of the worst parts of the NFL offseason, and one of the most recent injuries was a season-ender.
And this one will sting a little extra for Chargers fans because it happened to a former L.A. fan favorite.
Lions K Michael Badgley suffered a severe injury getting ready for practice yesterday and will be put on injured reserve and will miss the season
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) July 26, 2024
Former Chargers kicker Michael Badgley was placed on I.R. and ruled out for the entire season less than 24 hours after suffering his pre-practice injury at Detroit Lions training camp on Thursday. Reports aren't out yet on what injury Badgley suffered, but considering he's a kicker it would have been a non-contact injury.
The injury has been described as "significant" and "severe," and Dan Campbell announced that he will be undergoing surgery.
Dan Campbell opens with bad news: Michael Badgley is out for the season. pic.twitter.com/DuaffVumRt
— Jeanna Trotman (@JeannaTrotmanTV) July 26, 2024
Badgley started his NFL career playing three seasons with the Chargers from 2018 to 2020 after being waived before his rookie season by the Indianapolis Colts.
"The Money Badger" was terrific as a rookie, knocking through 15 of 16 field goal attempts and 27 of 28 extra-point attempts. It was downhill from there though, as he got injured in 2019 and made just 72.7% of his field goal attempts in 2020. He's bounced around on four different teams since then.
Badgley was signed onto the Lions' active roster from their practice squad late last season, knocking through 100% of his field goal attempts (7 of 7) and 24 of 26 extra point attempts through seven games (including playoffs).
The Lions will now likely be looking for a new kicker to compete with Jake Bates, and this could be a huge blow for Badgley's NFL future.
Meanwhile in L.A., apparently the home to kickers with nicknames, (Cameron) Dicker the Kicker looks to have an uncontested path to the starting role after hitting an elite 94.5% of his field goal attempts through his first two seasons with the team.
Dicker is, in fact, the most accurate kicker in Chargers history (min. 10 field goal attempts), ranking six spots ahead of Badgley.
Highest Field Goal % in Chargers History
Rank | Name | FG Made | FG Attempts | FG % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cameron Dicker | 50 | 53 | 94.3% |
2 | Dustin Hopkins | 27 | 30 | 90.0% |
3 | Nate Kaeding | 207 | 180 | 87.0% |
4 | Nick Novak | 110 | 130 | 84.6% |
5 | John Carney | 261 | 320 | 81.6% |
6 | Josh Lambo | 52 | 64 | 81.3% |
7 | Michael Badgley | 52 | 65 | 80.0% |
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