Buccaneers Drop Former Vikings Player
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are moving on.
Buccaneers Drop Former Vikings Player
That’s the word from that NFC South team on former Minnesota Vikings punter Seth Vernon. Tampa dropped Vernon from its practice squad on Tuesday, two days after the Buccaneers curiously fell at the feet of the Denver Broncos.
Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud tweeted, “Buccaneers signed long snapper Zach Triner to the active roster, and signed punter Trenton Gill and cornerback Keenan Isaac and to the team’s practice squad. Bucs placed long snapper Evan Deckers on Injured Reserve and released practice squad punter Seth Vernon.”
That’s a wrap for Vernon in pewter and gold, presumably sizing up the rest of the NFL for his next practice squad assignment. Through three games, the Buccaneers own a 2-1 record and showcase the 12th-best special teams per DVOA. Jake Camarda is the incumbent punter in Tampa Bay.
Minnesota inked veteran punter Seth Vernon right after the 2024 NFL Draft, a challenger to incumbent specialist Ryan Wright. And according to dribblings out of June’s minicamp, Vernon actually pushed Ryan Wright to the limit, at least for a week.
Star Tribune’s Andrew Krammer said in June on Access Vikings, “Matt Daniels is talking about how there was a big sophomore slump for Ryan Wright. That’s why they bring in this new punter. And that new punter, he’s got a boot.”
In the end, the Vikings’ summer punter battle ended about a week before roster trimdowns, and Vernon exited the franchise on August 19th.
Vernon has never played in a regular season game. The Atlanta Falcons onboarded the punter in 2022 from undrafted free agency, not unlike Wright in Minnesota. He stayed for the summer before a roster cut in August 2022.
Vikings.com’s Lindsey Young revealed some of Vernon’s stats in April: “As a senior in 2021, he averaged 44.9 yards per punt. He averaged 54.8 yards on six punts in his only game of the 2020 season (remaining games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). In 2019, he averaged 43.2 yards per boot. Over his time at Portland State, Vernon recorded 93 punts with an average of 44.6 yards per kick. He downed 27 punts inside the 20-yard line and recorded 29 punts of 50 or more yards.”
Without Vernon, the Buccaneers host the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday and are expected to lose by two or three points.
Vernon will turn 26 next April. He should get another audition elsewhere before too long.
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.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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