Nate Kaeding signs with the Miami Dolphins

Some NFL guys go from Buffalo to Cleveland. Nate Kaeding is going from San Diego to Miami.

The ninth-year NFL kicker from Iowa was a free agent for the last several weeks after getting waived on Oct. 30 by the San Diego Chargers. He'll finish up this season with the Miami Dolphins.

Miami needed a kicker because Dan Carpenter went on injured reserve with a groin injury. Coincidentally, that's the injury that sidelined Kaeding this season, after he had gotten off to a great start.

Kaeding was 7-for-7 in field goals through three games before his injury. He is 180-for-207 in his career, for an NFL regular-season record 87 percent. He is a two-time Pro Bowler.

This strikes me as a good move for Kaeding. Instead of having been on the kicking shelf for three months, he can give some end-of-season impressions to NFL executives around the league, including right there in Miami. If he looks like his old self in these two weeks, he'll find a good football home in the off-season.

Miami's final two games are Sunday at home against Buffalo and Dec. 30 at New England. The Dolphins are 6-8 and have a 2.3 percent chance of making the AFC playoffs.

"I feel very healthy and I'm looking forward to playing these next couple of games," Kaeding told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.