Just like that, Vikings could have new kicker, punter and long snapper
It was an eventful weekend for Vikings special teams as veteran long snapper Kevin McDermott was released, with kicker Dan Bailey put on notice via a trade with the Baltimore Ravens for 25-year-old kicker Kaare Vedvik.
McDermott was released Sunday, paving the way for rookie seventh-round pick Austin Cutting to become Minnesota's full-time long snapper. McDermott had been the long snapper in Minnesota since replacing Cullen Loeffler in 2015.
Bailey, meanwhile, could be the next to be released.
After making 21-of-27 field goals last season and struggling with consistency during training camp, the Vikings pulled the trigger and gave up a 2020 fifth-round draft pick to get Vedvik from the Ravens.
It would be a shock if Vedvik isn't the Vikings kicker when they open the regular season Sept. 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Atlanta Falcons.
Punter Matt Wile's job could also be in jeopardy because Vedvik has the ability to serve as a dual threat kicker and punter, not to mention his ability to handle kickoff duties.
Vedvik played at the same college as Randy Moss, the Marshall Thundering Herd, where he was First-Team All-Conference USA as a punter in 2017, averaging 44.0 yards per punt and dropping 26 of 59 kicks inside the 20-yard line.
He also had a 92-yard punt during his final year at Marshall.
In the NFL, he was undrafted before signing with the Ravens in 2018. Vedvik hit 8-of-9 field goals during the 2018 preseason , including a long from 56 yards (his miss was from 53 yards), and has picked up where he left off this year by making 4-of-4 field goals.
He connected on field goals from 55, 45, 26 and 29 yards against the Jaguars last week, while also punting twice for an average of 55.5 yards and a net average of 48.0 yards.
If Minnesota has Vedvik handle all the kicking duties, it essentially frees up a roster spot for a position player, and would certainly make it easier to keep cornerback Holton Hill, who is suspended eight games to start the season but received ample playing time in Minnesota's win over the Saints Thursday night.
But allowing Wile to handle punting duties while Vedvik handles field goals and kickoffs might be best because if Vedvik does it all and gets hurt, then Minnesota would be in a heap of trouble.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.