Nate Kaeding Injury: How Will San Diego Chargers Replace Injured Kicker?

On the very first play of the game between the Minnesota Vikings and the San Diego Chargers—the kickoff in fact—Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

That wasn't the worst of it for the Chargers, though.

No, the worst part was kicker Nate Kaeding being carted off with a left knee injury.

That would be Kaeding, the only kicker currently on the Chargers roster.

This creates a tremendous issue for the team and begs the question: What exactly do you do when you lose your only kicker?

When the Chargers scored shortly after, it was punter Mike Scifres who made the extra point. Often, a punter or kicker has some experience with the other kicker's duties. In this case, Scifres was able to fill in and will do so—though likely less effectively—throughout the game on field goals, extra points and kickoffs.

Once the team determines how long they will be without Kaeding, they will go out and get a free-agent kicker.

You might ask, what happens if Scifres goes down?

Once the panic in Qualcomm dies down, coach Norv Turner will more than likely turn to another player on the roster. The coaches already know who that guy will be, even if we don't. It could be any number of guys on the roster.

Remember when Ndamukong Suh attempted a kick last season?

It's not a sight any coach wants to see, but they know who has done it before.

If Turner feels he cannot risk that, he may opt to attempt two-point conversions. The Chargers offensive line is not the best—a combination of Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson, Mike Tolbert and Ryan Mathews can counter that.

Regardless, the Chargers have options. Losing Kaeding this early in the game is a blow, but not an insurmountable one.