Oct. 26 (UPI) — The Los Angeles Chargers made a change at kicker Tuesday, releasing Tristan Vizcaino and signing former Washington Football Team member Dustin Hopkins.
Vizcaino beat out Michael Badgley for the Chargers’ starting kicker job before the start of this season. Since then, however, Vizcaino has struggled to consistently convert his kicks.
The 25-year-old Vizcaino became the first kicker since the Minnesota Vikings’ Fred Cox in 1974 to miss five extra points over his team’s first six games. He was 6 for 7 on his field goal attempts and 10 for 15 on extra points.
we’ve signed Dustin Hopkins.
→ https://t.co/cyiHDKsmlH pic.twitter.com/Rxi3pnsoLT— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 26, 2021
Washington released Hopkins earlier this month after the veteran kicker appeared in 93 total games for the franchise from 2015-21. Originally a sixth-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 2013 NFL Draft, he made 12 of his 14 field goal attempts and 10 of his 12 extra points for the WFT this season.
Hopkins has converted 84% of his field goal attempts during his career and was Washington’s leader in field goal rate.
The 31-year-old Hopkins will be the 11th kicker to play for the Chargers (4-2) since 2017 when the team faces the New England Patriots (3-4) on Sunday.
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