Washington signs K Brian Johnson from Bears' practice squad originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

The Washington Football Team has signed kicker Brian Johnson from Chicago’s practice squad, head coach Ron Rivera confirmed during a Zoom session with local media on Monday.

“It was something we’ve been working on since last night,” Rivera said.

The head coach’s comments echo what he said earlier on Tuesday on the Sports Junkies: the team’s search for a new kicker began during halftime of Washington’s Monday Night Football victory over the Seahawks.

“We talked about it basically at halftime. I got the word out to our personnel department that we need to start looking,” Rivera said. “After the game, I talked with [general manager] Martin [Mayhew] and [front office executives] Marty [Hurney], Eric Stokes and Chris Polian, and then they talked to [special teams coordinator] Nate [Kaczor] about it. Nate is very familiar with him.”

The need for Johnson, who will be Washington’s fourth kicker this season, occurred after Joey Slye suffered a hamstring injury running after Seattle defender Rasheem Green during a wild blocked extra point runback. Slye is expected to miss at least three weeks with the injury.

Johnson, 22, made his NFL debut earlier this year for the New Orleans Saints, kicking in four games for the club. He converted all eight of his field goal attempts, but was just 5-of-8 on extra points. Johnson was released after missing two extra points in the Saints’ 23-21 loss to the Titans on Nov. 14.

Johnson has local ties, too. He attended Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. before attending Virginia Tech, where he ironically was Slye’s replacement after the latter entered the NFL. With the Hokies, Johnson converted 76% of field goals over his career and never missed an extra point.