Lately, it seems like teams that have gone out of their way to outmaneuver the Chicago Bears have ended up regretting their decisions. In 2016, the Green Bay Packers jumped in front of them to draft Indiana tackle, Jason Spriggs. A player they cut not too long ago. Now it appeared the Minnesota Vikings got the drop on them when they outbid the Bears in a trade for Baltimore Ravens backup kicker Kaare Vedvik.
Vedvik was easily the hottest commodity at his position this offseason. The Ravens already had All-Pro Justin Tucker. Vedvik was a luxury that they would make available at the right price. The kid had alluring talent. A big body, a giant leg, and rare two-way ability where he could kick accurately and also punt. A small bidding war ensued from a number of kicker-needy teams. According to several sources, it seems the Bears were the favorite to land him, offering a conditional 5th round pick.
That’s when the Vikings pounced, offering a regular 5th round pick instead. Baltimore accepted and shipped Vedvik north. It seemed like a coup for the Vikings. Not only did they get an ultra-talented leg to hopefully fix one of their weakest positions. They also deprived it of the team that knocked them out of the playoff race last year. However, this patting on the back didn’t last too long.
Minnesota Vikings are already concerned with their investment
While Vedvik had a nice day punting in his first preseason game with the Vikings, his kicking could best be called a nightmare. His missed both attempts he had in the game, one from 43 yards and the other from 54. Considering it was in a dome without any sort of weather conditions, one can understand why the Minnesota coaches were less than pleased as Brian Hall of AP News pointed out.
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The Vikings thought they had found a reliable option.
But Kaare Vedvik’s rocky performance in the third preseason game has done little to reassure coach Mike Zimmer.
Vedvik missed both his field-goal attempts in Saturday’s 20-9 home win against Arizona. Afterward, Zimmer would only say his concern is “high” regarding Vedvik, a newcomer acquired from Baltimore on Aug. 11 for a fifth-round draft pick.
“Disappointing and it’s unacceptable,” special teams coordinator Marwan Maalouf added Tuesday. “He knows that. Hopefully this weekend, we’ll get more opportunities.”
It may not be wise for the Vikings to jump to conclusions on Vedvik after one performance. Then again they’ve done this before. They’d drafted Daniel Carlson last year in the 5th round. After a perfect opener in Week 1, he endured a miserable showing at Lambeau Field the next week, missing three field goals which ultimately led to a tie. Minnesota cut him after that game. A month later he ended up in Oakland where he became their starter and missed just one of his 17 field goal attempts the rest of the year.
So maybe it’s not the kickers that are the problem.
