Vikings

The Vikings Should Never Sign Kickers Long-Term

Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Vikings’ kicker woes have struck again. Dan Bailey made only 68.2% of his field goals and 86% of his extra points last season, both of which were the lowest percentages in his entire career. Bailey went 6-for-12 on kicks over 40 yards, left 27 points on the board, and cemented his place as the least-accurate kicker in the NFL.

Releasing Bailey saves the Vikings $1.7 million in cap space this season. He was set to have $1.8 of his $2.7 million of his base salary guaranteed on March 19.

It’s important to remember that the Vikings signed him to a three-year, $10 million deal this past offseason. It seemed like the correct move at the time, maintaining consistency at a position where they have struggled to find an answer. Before signing the contract, Bailey made 93% of his field-goal attempts, including all three of his attempts from over 50 yards.

The Vikings already have a potential replacement on the roster. They signed former Tennessee Titan and Cleveland Browns’ kicker Greg Joseph last month. At the time, it seemed like the Vikings brought Joseph in to provide some competition for Bailey, who would be on a renegotiated deal. Now it looks like he’s in line to be the starting kicker next year.

No matter how confident the Vikings might be in Joseph, they must find some sort of competition for him in training camp.

Bailey had his best season in purple after the Vikings traded for Baltimore Ravens’ backup kicker/punter Kaare Vedvik. While the original plan was for Vedik to start at both kicker and punter and save a roster spot, he struggled in both roles, and Bailey went on to have a great season.

When Bailey was kicking well at the beginning of the season, the Vikings had the threat of Chase McLaughlin, who could take the job if he faltered. It wasn’t until McLaughlin was poached off the practice squad that Bailey started to struggle. He only missed two field goals when McLaughlin was on the practice squad but missed five after the Jacksonville Jaguars signed him.

Last season there was a great deal of optimism surrounding the Vikings’ kicking unit. They finally had tenured players at long snapper, kicker, and holder. But things fell apart quickly.

In addition to Bailey’s struggles, the Vikings released long snapper Austin Cutting after he rolled the snap on an extra point. While this seems like a relatively minor move, it may have thrown off Bailey’s timing and led to his struggles this season.

It doesn’t matter if you think Bailey’s dip in form was due to a change in long snappers or having no competition; the Vikings should have a kicking competition in training camp. They should take advantage of the new practice squad rules, which allow for one player to be elevated to the active roster on game day if they have trouble with another kicker in the future.

Given their history with kickers, from Gary Anderson’s miss to the Shank at the Bank, there is no such thing as being too prepared at kicker for this team.

The case of Blair Walsh mirrors Bailey’s in many ways. Before the 2016 season, the Vikings signed him to a four-year, $13 million deal. It seemed like a no-brainer at the time. In his first three seasons with the team, Walsh made 84.5% of his field goals and only missed one extra point.

In the 2016 season, the deal looked to be a bargain. Walsh made 87.2% of his kicks, his highest percentage since his rookie season — until the infamous miss against the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs. Walsh was never the same after that. He hit only 75% of his field goals the next year and missed 22.1% of his extra points.

The key takeaway here? Don’t sign kickers to long-term deals. While it may look like an attractive option at the time, the position has proven far too volatile to invest in long-term. Bailey is one of the most accurate kickers in history and had a resurgence in 2019. But he fell into a slump that might have cost the Vikings a chance at the playoffs this year.

It doesn’t matter if you have a guy you think could be the kicker of the future like Walsh or one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history in Bailey. The Vikings should have internal competition for it every year.

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