Eligible for an extension a year early due to his UDFA status, Cameron Dicker will capitalize. The Chargers have a deal in place to lock down their young specialist.
Dicker agreed to terms on a four-year, $22MM extension with the Bolts, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The deal will include $12.5MM guaranteed. While the deal is technically worth $22.004MM, Dicker effectively checks in — at $5.5MM per year — tied with Evan McPherson and Graham Gano at No. 5 among kicker salaries.
The former Texas kicker has only played one full season with the Chargers, who ended Dicker’s nomadic 2022 run with an in-season agreement. Originally a 2022 Rams UDFA, Dicker bounced to the Ravens and Eagles before catching on with the Bolts on a November 2022 practice squad pact. Dustin Hopkins‘ hamstring injury that year changed the Bolts’ plans at kicker.
Upon cutting their roster down to 53 last summer, the Chargers traded Hopkins to the Browns to clear the way for Dicker. Hopkins signed an extension with Cleveland this offseason, and Dicker now has security in Los Angeles. The Chargers will hope this can provide some kicker stability, as the team has gone through some hiccups at the position over the past several years.
Injuries and inconsistency have plagued the Bolts at this spot for a while. They have gone through multi-kicker seasons in five of the past seven years, seeing Week 1 kickers Younghoe Koo and Tristan Vizcaino not pan out in that span. Even mid-2010s option Josh Lambo only lasted two seasons in San Diego, with Nick Novak the last Charger to firmly establish himself here. This deal will give Dicker, 24, a runway to become the longest-tenured Bolts kicker since Nate Kaeding (2004-11).
Dicker impressed during his 2022 half-season audition, going 19-for-20 on field goals. In 2023, he showed that form could hold up over a full season, making 31 of 33 tries — including 9-for-9 from 40-49 yards and 7-for-9 from beyond 50 — in 17 games.
Despite the Chargers changing regimes this offseason, its Jim Harbaugh-led power structure will sign off on the Tom Telesco-era pickup for the long haul. Well, for the short term and then a wait-and-see period, as this is a kicker. But the $12.5MM guarantee — tied for the sixth-highest kicker figure — gives the longtime Longhorns option some stability after being unable to catch on to start his career.