Former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman has been much more active in the media since he departed the Vikings organization. He’s appeared on many different shows to provide a general manager’s perspective on the inner workings of a football team. Spielman has also been more transparent about what transpired when he was with the team.
Recently in a video uploaded to his Twitter account, Spielman talked about the player he regretted cutting the most during his tenure with the Vikings. Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson.
Carlson was drafted by the Vikings in the 5th round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Expectations were high for the young kicker, but unfortunately, after three missed field goals against the Green Bay Packers the Vikings released him. Many feel Mike Zimmers’ notorious short fuse and attitude towards special teams dramatically contributed to this release, but Spielman takes the high road in the video.
Since that moment the Vikings and Carlson have taken two drastically different paths. The Vikings ended up signing veteran Dan Bailey, and then after they cut Bailey brought in Greg Joseph and find themselves still looking for their kicker for the future.
Carlson, on the other hand, has enjoyed a rise to the top of his profession since he signing with the then Oakland, now Las Vegas Raiders. In 2018 he set a Raiders single-season record for kicking accuracy, making 94% of his field goal attempts. He also led the NFL in scoring in 2020 and 2021 and even made a second-team all-pro in 2021.
The Raiders even locked up Carlson long-term awarding him with a 4-year 18.2 million dollar contract in 2021.
While the decision likely wasn’t made by just Spielman, knowing Mike Zimmer and his notoriously short fuse when it came to special teams players and rookies, it is clear that the decision still weighs heavy on his mind.
While we can’t predict if Carlson would have turned into an elite kicker or potentially saved the tenure of Zimmer and Spielman had he stayed in Minnesota, we know that if a kicker of Carlson’s caliber was on the Vikings currently fans would feel a lot better heading in to 2022.,
