COSTA MESA, Calif. -- The latest kicker to walk through the turnstile for the Los Angeles Chargers is Nick Rose, whom the team claimed off waivers after he was released by the Washington Redskins over the weekend.
“He has a strong leg and he has some talent,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said about Rose. “We’re going to kick him [Thursday] and see how he does in practice under some different situations. But he looked good [Wednesday].”
One of the reasons Lynn and the Chargers made the move to bring in Rose is the team is looking for a long-term answer at the position for stability. And Rose is the latest kicker to get an opportunity to be groomed for that role.
“Definitely the best-case scenario would be staying here a long time,” Rose said. “That would be great.”
Rose replaces Travis Coons, who was waived after just three games.
The Chargers initially started the year with undrafted rookie Younghoe Koo, who beat out Josh Lambo during a kicking competition in training camp.
However, the Chargers waived Koo and signed veteran Nick Novak for a little more stability in Week 5. Novak, however, eventually was sidelined by a back injury and the Chargers signed Travis Coons in Week 13.
Rose played in eight games for Washington as the team’s regular kicker while Dustin Hopkins rehabbed from a hip issue. Once Hopkins was healthy, the Redskins decided to put him back in the lineup, making Rose expendable.
A product of the University of Texas, Rose entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie free agent signed by the Atlanta Falcons in May 2016, but he was released during training camp.
Rose then signed a futures deal with the San Francisco 49ers in January 2017, but again was released during final roster cuts in September.
Rose signed with Washington in Week 7 and played in eight games for the Redskins. He made 10 of 11 field goals, including a long of 55 yards. Rose also has a strong leg, with 24 of his 38 kickoffs (63.2 percent) finishing in touchbacks, No. 17 in the NFL.
“I’m just trying to be a well-rounded guy,” Rose said when asked what his strengths were as a kicker. “Everybody has strengths and weaknesses, but I think it comes down to how well you can do on your bad days, and that you can still do everything pretty well.”