Oct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings fans react late during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.
In addition to injuries for J.J. McCarthy, Christian Darrisaw, Mekhi Blackmon, T.J. Hockenson, Dalton Risner, Jordan Addison, Dallas Turner, Sam Darnold, and Aaron Jones so far this season, Minnesota Vikings fans must sweat another.
It’s rookie kicker Will Reichard. He’ll undergo an MRI for a quad problem this week.
Star Tribune’s Andrew Krammer tweeted Monday, “Kicker Will Reichard is scheduled for an MRI on his right quad tomorrow, he said. He’s been dealing with soreness for a little bit and said he further strained his leg sometime in the first half. He had a heat pad on the sidelines to continue playing.”
Nicknamed “Will the Thrill” by Vikings special teams coach Matt Daniels, the young specialist missed two field goals in Minnesota’s Sunday Night Football win in Week 9, an uncharacteristic behavior. The Vikings have a bizarre knack for winning games when the kicker misses field goals, but that luck may eventually run out.
The Athletic’s Alec Lewis added a Reichard-related snippet from a past article on Twitter Monday: “Motivating, yes, but also ominous. In September of 2019, Reichard mishit a kickoff at Bryant-Denny Stadium and felt a sharp pain in his leg. Lying on a table in the locker room, Alabama’s trainers told him he had torn the quad in his right leg straight off the bone. One of the trainers said there was ‘a possibility he may not kick for a while,’ special teams assistant Joe Houston recalled.”
Until Sunday night, Reichard had been the NFL’s most accurate kicker and a budding legend in Minnesota. For decades, Vikings football has been snakebitten by bad kicker antics, and with Reichard in the saddle, fears dwindled. The man inspired an aura of confidence.
Too, another Vikings specialist is likely hitting injured reserve. ESPN’s Kevin Sefiert tweeted on Monday, “Vikings All-Pro long snapper Andrew DePaola suffered a hand injury and will need surgery, per Kevin O’Connell. Likely short-term IR.”
If Reichard misses any games as a result of the MRI, free-agent kickers like Randy Bullock, Jack Podlesny, Brett Maher, and John Parker Romo, among others, are available.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said about Reichard, “You’d love to have him continue on the fabulous trajectory he’s been on really since he arrived here. These things come up. We’ll go through the process here of making sure we put together the best plan to make sure we have him full and doing what he’s doing all season long really up until last night.”
The Vikings next travel to Jacksonville for a date with the Jaguars and are favored by 4.5 points to prevail on Sunday.
The team will host free-agent kickers and long snappers this week to prepare for the special teams injury fallout.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
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