Chargers Punter Mike Scifres Gets 5-Year Extension

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Punter Mike Scifres has agreed to a five-year contract extension that will keep him with the San Diego Chargers through 2016.

Scifres has been with the Chargers since 2003, when he was a fifth-round draft pick.

He has consistently been one of the NFL's best punters and was a Pro Bowl alternate from 2004-09.

While Scifres' gross average was 46.7 yards last year, he was a victim of the Chargers' poor special teams play. He had four punts blocked and another deflected, helping to drop his net average to 30.8 yards.

Scifres calls the extension "unbelievable" and says he had no intention of testing the free agent market when his current deal expired.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)