Minnesota Vikings Specialists

The Minnesota Vikings have made some tweaks to their specialists. When training camp started just over two weeks ago the group looked like this.

Kicker
Dan Bailey

Punter
Matt Wile

Long Snapper 
Kevin McDermott
Austin Cutting

Holder
Matt Wile

Now, it looks something like this:

Kicker
Dan Bailey

Punter
Matt Wile
Kaare Vedvik

Long Snapper
Austin Cutting

Holder
    ?

The easiest position tweak to explain is the one that was pretty much decided at the draft. When the Vikings selected Air Force long snapper Austin Cutting with their final pick in the seventh round, Kevin McDermott's days of handling the snaps were numbered. The rotation at the long snapper position through two weeks of training camp wasn't doing the consistency of the kicking battery any good. McDermott was released on Sunday.

While releasing McDermott did answer one question, another Sunday transaction introduced several new questions. The Vikings traded a 2020 5th-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens for Kaare Vedvik. That's a significant price to pay for a kicker, or a punter, or both. Vedvik can kick and punt really well. The Ravens had both positions covered so four teams reportedly called about the availability of the talented specialist. Now, he's in Minnesota. So, what position will he play? Media and fans are asking. The Vikings are basically saying, "we'll see." Media and fans don't like vague answers. If Vedvik's first couple practices are any indication, it looks like he's the punter. More accurately, he's competing with Matt Wile to be the Vikings punter. But, a team doesn't trade a 5th-round pick for a punter and then release him. As with Cutting basically having the long snapper job the moment he was drafted, Vedvik had a roster spot as soon as the Vikings traded for him. I'm presently thinking that he's the punter. Unless, he becomes the kicker. While I believe that Dan Bailey will keep the kicker job, the possibility that the team turns to Vedvik is out there. A much more remote possibility is Vedvik handling both positions. The only certainty with the Vikings specialists is that Austin Cutting will be the long snapper and Kaare Vedvik will have a role with the team.

At recent press conferences, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer spoke well of Bailey. That and Vedvik spending much of yesterday's practice punting leads me to believe that each will handle those duties. I'm guessing that Vedvik will kick off as well as provide insurance as a kicker. Maybe he even handles longer field goals. The possibility of him kicking at times might explain why receiver Chad Beede was the holder for all of Bailey's field goal and extra point attempts. The Vikings typically have their punter hold for kicks. Another player would have to hold if the punter has to come in to kick a field goal. After all, what team wants to have a second holder to accommodate a second kicker?

So, until something to the contrary is announced I'm presently going with the Vikings specialists for the 2019 season looking something like this:

Kicker
Dan Bailey

Punter
Kaare Vedvik

Long Snapper
Austin Cutting

Holder
Chad Beebe

My thinking for the above group being the Vikings specialists in 2019 relies heavily on Zimmer's recent kind words for Bailey and yesterday's practice. A practice which had Vedvik concentrating on punting and Beebe holding. There's a chance that each was doing what they were doing simply because Matt Wile had sliced his hand during Friday's preseason game and needed stitches to close the wound. So, there are still questions about the Vikings specialists. There are more questions now than there were two weeks ago. There are always questions throughout the roster this time of year. Just because the specialist positions are usually the most settled positions in training camp doesn't mean a little uncertainty is a bad thing. Having a player as versatile as Vedvik is intriguing. He gives the team unique options. It would be a mistake to not explore those options. But, it'd be nice to get the kicking battery settled pretty soon. The longer that group has to work together the better it will be for the season. The kicking has to improve. It's been a mess since Blair Walsh missed that kick. I don't think that I've been relaxed for a Vikings extra point or field goal attempt since. That has to change and the hope here is that this unusual specialist group will do so.