Bolts add kicker depth, sign K Tristan Vizcaino

On Friday afternoon, the Chargers announced the signing of kicker Tristan Vizcaino to the roster.

Vizcaino originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Washington where he held mainly kickoff duties until his senior year in 2017. In that final season, Vizcaino made 48 of 51 extra point attempts and converted on 12-of-19 field goal tries. During his junior season in 2016, he was also the team’s starting punter, averaging 40.7 yards on 51 total punts.

Vizcaino didn’t actually sign a contract with a team until 2019 when he inked a reserve futures deal with the Bengals on Jan. 1. Over the past two seasons, he’s also had stints with the Cowboys, Vikings, 49ers, and Bills.

This past season, he made his NFL debut with the Niners, making all three of his field goal attempts against the Seahawks in the regular season finale.

The signing will provide competition for incumbent starter Michael Badgley, who has struggled in recent following his promising rookie campaign in 2018. In 2020, Badgley missed nine field goals, more than twice his total misses from his first two seasons in the NFL.