The Lions Signed That Norweigan Kicker Who Was A Big Deal On YouTube

Until December, Havard Rugland was just some guy in Norway with a YouTube video that showed him kicking footballs in all sorts of crazy ways. It was fun while it lasted, but then the Jets gave him a tryout because they're the Jets. That didn't work out, and we all went back to forgetting about Havard Rugland. But now he's officially a Detroit Lion!

For the first time in forever, the Lions are in the market for a kicker because of Jason Hanson's recent retirement. They signed David Akers to a one-year deal the other day, but they had brought Rugland in for a tryout last month, which at the time prompted coach Jim Schwartz to say this:

“Kickalicious?” Schwartz said, referring to the name of the YouTube video. “Same way you guys did. He had worked out for the Jets, I believe, a couple weeks before us. And when you work out a player it goes across the (NFL) wire also. But when those guys have agents and things like that, the reason they went through that was to try to get opportunities, so he has agents that’s working and we had opportunity.”

The terms of Rugland's contract have not been disclosed. At the very least, he gets to come to training camp to compete with Akers, and he's the prohibitive favorite when the situation calls for kicking footballs over a pond.

[ Eye on Football]