Aug 17, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; New York Jets helmets during the second half against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports.
He’s taken a windy road in the last nine months but found another new NFL destination on Christmas Eve.
That’s Greg Joseph, now a member of the New York Jets’ practice squad.
Joseph’s agent, Brett Tessler, tweeted Tuesday, “The New York Jets just signed my client Greg Joseph (K, FAU) to their practice squad. 7-year vet recently filled in for the Washington Commanders as well as the New York Giants earlier this season.”
The former Vikings specialist has now signed with or tried out for six NFL teams since leaving Minnesota in late March:
New York evidently became frustrated with kicker Anders Carlson after the ex-Green Bay Packer missed a crucial field goal in Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Joseph is now one promotion away from the primary kicking job on Aaron Rodgers’ team.
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 in recent weeks and now the Jets practice squad gig.
Joseph will turn 31 this summer.
The Jets were eliminated from postseason contention a few weeks ago.
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.