The LA Chargers added another name to the injury report this week as kicker Dustin Hopkins is dealing with a quad injury in his kicking leg that could lead to some missed time for the veteran. Hopkins has not officially been ruled out yet, but the Chargers are preparing for a week without him.
If Hopkins is not able to go then the Bolts are going to turn to Taylor Bertolet. Bertolet was signed to the practice squad on Thursday and will be elevated in the case that Hopkins is unable to play against the Cleveland Browns.
While he has been rostered by NFL teams in the past, this would be Bertolet's NFL debut if he does play against the Browns. Chargers fans might be concerned with who the team brought in as most fans have never heard of him before. However, there are some promising clips that can ease some of the stress.
These Taylor Bertolet kicks will amp up Chargers fans.
While he has not played an official game in the NFL, Bertolet has appeared in preseason games at the NFL level. He knows what it is like to be part of an NFL kicking operation and has drilled some pretty impressive kicks in the process.
Perhaps his most impressive was this 56-yarder with the New York Jets during the 2019 preseason. Bertolet not only had enough leg to make the kick from 59-60 yards, but he went right down the middle.
Bertolet might not have any NFL games under his belt but he has played professional football in the AAF, CFL and USFL. Surprised he does not have the XFL on his list of professional leagues but we all know how short-lived that was.
While he was with the Salt Lake Stallions in the AAF, Bertolet drilled another long field goal in a professional setting that probably would have been good from 60+ yards out. This 53-yarder was good the entire way, and flew an additional 10-12 yards.
Perhaps his most impressive kick was one that was shorter than both of these kicks. Salt Lake City is obviously known for snow in the winter months and Bertolet found himself in a snow flurry in March of 2019.
That did not bother the former Texas A&M kicker, who drilled a 41-yard kick right through the uprights on an attempt that probably would have been good from 50+ yards.
There is not any snow in the forecast for Cleveland on Sunday, but there are going to be 15 MPH winds that Bertolet has to deal with. With the stadium blocking most wind gusts, that will probably be easier to deal with than a snowstorm, all things considered.
It is not all positive when it comes to Bertolet, though. In the same preseason in which he nailed the 59-yarder with the Jets, he also had a game where he missed two extra points as well as going 2-5 in field goal attempts. That is not going to cut it, at all.
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His college kicking stats are also not as impressive. Bertolet made 66.1% of his field goal attempts with Texas A&M while making 56.4% of kicks that were 30 yards or longer. He obviously has a big leg, but he has not been accurate consistently in the past.
Special thanks to Twitter user @BoltupDeonte619, who compiled these highlight kicks.