Mike Zimmer Hasn't Decided Yet if Dan Bailey Will Remain the Vikings' Kicker

Zimmer has a big decision to make after Bailey's historically bad day in Tampa hurt Minnesota's playoff hopes.

One day after Dan Bailey's four missed kicks helped doom the Vikings in a frustrating 12-point loss to the Buccaneers, Mike Zimmer wouldn't reveal his plans at the position for next week's game against the Bears.

"I haven’t made a decision yet," he said.

Zimmer hasn't spoken to Bailey since Sunday's game, saying that he plans to do so on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

"I’d prefer to address the team about these things as opposed to throwing it out there in the media," he said about making a decision on whether or not Bailey will be replaced.

In his press conference immediately following the game, Zimmer expressed frustration at Bailey's misses but was also respectful of the veteran's career and made a point to mention that plenty of other things went wrong for his team in the loss. 

He continued to straddle that line on Monday. It's clear that Zimmer is fond of Bailey as a person and understands that these are just two games of poor play – historically poor, admittedly – in a long career of successful kicking. However, it's also no secret that the NFL is a 'what-have-you-done-for-me-lately' league, and that Bailey's confidence appeared to evaporate in Tampa.

This is a decision that might be more difficult and complex than some may think. The Vikings immediately cut Daniel Carlson in September 2018 after an 0-for-3 game, but Carlson has bounced back with a strong 2020 season for the Raiders. There's also the financial issue of cutting Bailey – which would result in several million dollars of dead cap money – and the fact that practice squad kicker Tristan Vizcaino doesn't exactly have great numbers in college or the preseason.

"You have to look at history, you have to look at past performances, you have to look at the person," Zimmer said. "Sometimes you [reporters] write bad articles, does your editor come in and say, 'Hey, either write this one better or I'm going to fire you?' Or does he look at what you've done in the past? It's all the same stuff. This guy is a solid kid. What did he hit, 28 in a row from September '19 to October 2020 or something like that? [Bailey made 25 field goals in a row from Week 8 of 2019 to Week 3 of this year, including playoffs]. I have to take all of that into consideration as well." 

Ultimately, Zimmer said that it'll come down to making a gut decision and going from there.

"Honestly I love the kid," he said. "If we end up making a change then it's about just what we feel at this particular point in time. We are in the performance business and these last two weeks haven't been good. Like I said yesterday, if I cut everybody that made mistakes yesterday we'd all be out of here, including me. We'll go with our gut and do what we believe and believe that whichever decision we make is the right one. It's all you can do. Go with the gut, make the decision and go with it."

If the Vikings do elect to make a change, Vizcaino would be the most obvious candidate. It's worrisome that he made just 16 of 26 field goal attempts between his senior season at Washington in 2017 and four games with the Bengals in the 2019 preseason, but one can argue that anything would be better than a confidence-less Bailey right now.

Update: Vizcaino has been released from the practice squad, suggesting the Vikings may stick with Bailey.

There are also a number of potential free agent options, including Adam Vinatieri (if the 47-year-old wants to kick again), Brett Maher, Chandler Catanzaro, and Giorgio Tavecchio. Former practice squad kicker Chase McLaughlin was claimed by the Jets on Monday, so he's not an option. The pickings are pretty slim, considering most teams are keeping an extra kicker on their practice squad this year. 

Update: the Vikings brought in Catanzaro for a tryout on Tuesday, making him the second kicker to try out this week. Taylor Bertolet was the first. Catanzaro could be signed to the practice squad soon.

If the Vikings do bring in a free agent, that player would have to go through the COVID-19 protocols and – if I'm not mistaken – they wouldn't be able to participate in any practices ahead of Sunday's game against Chicago.

We should find out about Zimmer's decision in the next couple days.

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