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Michael Badgley

Injury Notes: Foles, Ansah, Badgley

September 15th, 2019 at 2:21pm CST by PFR Staff

Nick Foles, who remains out indefinitely due to a broken left clavicle bone that was suffered last week against the Chiefs, had surgery this past Monday. During the procedure, Foles had plate and screws utilized while fixing the clavicle to ensure long-term health, and a source said it was a clean, straight-forward break, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.

In preparation for his return, Foles will have multiple scans before setting foot on the field, with all parties wary of a re-break. Assuming everything heals properly, he’ll begin practicing the week before the Houston game in Week 9, then have the bye, then be back with the Jaguars Week 11.

Filling in for Foles is rookie Gardner Minshaw, who was named the league’s Rookie of the Week for his admirable performance against the Chiefs last week. Minshaw will remain the starter for the foreseeable future.

Lets’ check out some more injury notes from around the NFL:

Chargers To Cut K Caleb Sturgis

November 5th, 2018 at 12:20pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers will release kicker Caleb Sturgis, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). To replace him, the teams plans to promote Michael Badgley from the practice squad. 

The move hardly comes as a surprise after Sturgis missed a field goal and two extra points against the Seahawks on Sunday. It was his first game back from a quad injury, but even before that, he missed three field goals and four extra points.

While Sturgis was out, Badgley nailed all three of his field goal tries and went 7-for-7 on extra points, so they have reason to trust the 23-year-old over the veteran. His first assignment as the team’s “full-time” kicker will come on Sunday against the Raiders.

Despite Sturgis’ struggles, the Chargers pulled out a 25-17 win over the Seahawks. Riding a five game win streak, they now stand at 6-2 and have a real chance at catching the Chiefs for the divisional lead.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/31/18

October 31st, 2018 at 4:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the practice squad decisions teams have made on Halloween:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

Seattle Seahawks

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/30/18

October 30th, 2018 at 7:07pm CST by Ben Levine

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Chargers Sign K Michael Badgley

October 11th, 2018 at 10:34am CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers are signing free agent kicker Michael Badgley, league sources tell Field Yates and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Badgley will kick while veteran Caleb Sturgis nurses a strained quad. Sturgis, meanwhile, will remain on the team and the club will carry both kickers on the main roster. 

Badgley spent time with the Colts this offseason after finishing up his time at the University of Miami. With the Hurricanes, Badgley connected on 794.% of his field goal tries and 96.1% of his extra point attempts. As a senior, he earned first-team All-ACC honors as he made 17-of-23 field goal attempts and 42-of-43 extra point tries for the Hurricanes. Meanwhile, 32 of his 75 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks in 2017.

Badgley’s first test will come against the Browns on Sunday. Depending on Sturgis’ recovery, his audition could last a bit longer.

Raiders To Add K Matt McCrane

September 25th, 2018 at 5:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

After 17 seasons featuring the same kicker, the Raiders are pivoting to a third in the past two years.

While Mike Nugent battles a hip injury, the Raiders are adding another leg in rookie UDFA Matt McCrane, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. McCrane went to camp with the Cardinals this year.

Nugent was only added after Oakland opted to cut Giorgio Tavecchio, its 2017 kicker. Tavecchio was also on the list of specialists the Raiders auditioned on Tuesday, with Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan reporting (via Twitter) Tavecchio joined McCrane, Michael Badgley, Jon Brown and Trevor Moore.

Nugent suffered a hip malady in the Raiders’ loss to the Dolphins on Sunday. He remains on the Raiders’ roster, giving them a two-kicker setup going into Week 4. The Raiders used Tavecchio last season and Nugent for the first three games of this one, after Nugent beat out rookie UDFA Joel Pineiro for the job. Prior to that, Sebastian Janikowski served as the Raiders’ kicker from 2000-16.

A Kansas State product, McCrane spent four seasons as the primary kicker for the Big 12 program. He made 57 of his 66 career kicks — by the end of his sophomore season he’d made 25 of 26 kicks — and earned an invitation to the East-West Shrine Game. He could not beat out Phil Dawson for the Cardinals’ kicking job in camp.

Colts Sign 10 UDFAs

May 1st, 2018 at 2:59pm CST by Zachary Links

The Colts announced the signing of the following ten undrafted free agents:

  • Michael Badgley, K (Miami)
  • Chris Cooper, S (Stony Brook)
  • Lashard Durr, CB (Mississippi State)
  • Steve Ishmael, WR (Syracuse)
  • Robert Jackson, CB (UNLV)
  • Tomasi Laulile, DT (BYU)
  • Skai Moore, LB (South Carolina)
  • George Odum, S (Central Arkansas)
  • William Ossai, LB (San Jose State)
  • Henre’ Toliver, CB (Arkansas)

Moore, who seemed likely to be taken during Day 3 of the draft, is the biggest name in this group. Moore led his team in tackles in all four of his seasons (interrupted by a medical redshirt year to rehab from a herniated disk in 2016), but evaluators worried about his lack of size and speed. The slim 6’2″ linebacker will now try to catch on as a reserve behind starters John Simon, Antonio Morrison, and Najee Goode.

The Colts seem well set at kicker with Adam Vinatieri under contract for another season, but Badgley will try to give him a run for his money. At The U, Badgley connected on 79.4% of his field goal tries, including a career-long 57-yarder in 2015.

To help make room for the UDFAs, the Colts released a number of players on Tuesday morning, including running back Matt Jones.