Former Viking Auditions for 5th Team in Last 9 Months
Greg Joseph has been a busy man since leaving the Minnesota Vikings after the 2023 campaign.
Former Viking Auditions for 5th Team in Last 9 Months
The veteran kicker hasn’t found steady ground since departing the purple team, but he’ll hope to latch onto the Washington Commanders practice squad if he plays his cards right.
KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweeted Thursday, “The Commanders worked out Greg Joseph.”
Joseph also auditioned for the Cleveland Browns’ roster this week, though no contract materialized for the South African. With any luck, Joseph will join the Commanders’ practice squad and become an insurance policy for current kicker Zane Gonzalez. Washington kicker Austin Seibert recently hit injured reserve.
Here’s Joseph’s NFL resume to date:
- Miami Dolphins (2018)
- Cleveland Browns (2018)
- Carolina Panthers (2019)
- Tennessee Titans (2019)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020)
- Minnesota Vikings (2021–2023)
- Green Bay Packers (2024)
- Detroit Lions (2024)
- New York Giants (2024)
Joseph played for Minnesota from 2021 to 2023, securing the kicker job longer than most amid the last decade of Vikings football. Joseph racked up five game-winning field goals in 2022 — you read that right: five — a chief component in actionizing the Vikings’ NFL-record-setting 11-0 record in games decided by one score or less that season. Minnesota’s kicker won five football games for the team notoriously snakebitten by kicker-related tomfoolery.
Yet, in back-to-back seasons, 2022 and 2023, Joseph ranked as a bottom-six NFL kicker per overall field goal percentage. The man also struggled with extra points. Vikings fans “appreciated what they had” in Joseph, jaded from kickers of yesteryear who let them down in crucial, pressure-cooked moments. But as a matter of improvement, Minnesota strived to find a kicker who could do it all: consistently hit game-winning kicks, normal ones, and drill extra points.
So, the Vikings drafted coveted Alabama kicker Will Reichard in April, who has performed wonderfully since his arrival. Most Vikings fans are rather content with the young specialist.
After Joseph departed Minnesota, he signed with the Packers and engaged in an honest-to-goodness summer kicking competition, which Brayden Narveson ultimately won (a man who later lost his job). Joseph then hit the Lions’ practice squad for six days before the Giants plucked him for duty. He struggled in New York and was waived with an injury settlement.
That brought him to the Browns and Commanders tryouts this week as Joseph awaits his next assignment.
He’ll turn 31 next summer.
Washington is the NFL’s 12th-worst field-goal-kicking team through 14 weeks, connecting on 81.08% of kicks. If the postseason began today, the Commanders would hit the road for a Wildcard date with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Commanders already employ former Vikings players Sheldon Day (DT), Jalyn Holmes (DT), and K.J. Osborn (WR).
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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 MIN 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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