COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo has signed a reserve/future contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, the team announced on Wednesday.
Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said a point of emphasis this offseason will be finding a consistent kicker who can stick around long term.
The Bolts used five kickers in 2017 -- including punter Drew Kaser -- and finished at a league-low 67 percent on field goal attempts. Aguayo spent time on the Carolina Panthers' practice squad after being cut by both the Buccaneers and Chicago Bears before the season.
The Bucs traded into the second round of the 2016 draft to select Aguayo, making him the highest-drafted kicker since Mike Nugent in 2005. Aguayo struggled in his only season with the Buccaneers, however, missing nine field goal attempts and two extra point attempts.
Chargers general manager Tom Telesco took blame for the Chargers' struggles at kicker during the 2017 season while talking to reporters at an end-of-season news conference.
"One of my biggest regrets this year [is] I did not do a good enough job addressing that position," Telesco said. "I kind of put our head coach, Anthony, in a tough position as far as managing the football game. So, it happens. I'm not really happy about it. We'll assess where we were, and we'll get it fixed."
Aguayo likely will have some competition. The Chargers still have Nick Rose under contract from last season. They claimed Rose off waivers after the Washington Redskins released him in Week 16.
And Telesco said it's possible the Chargers bring back veteran Nick Novak and let Kaser handle kickoffs.