One Injured Viking Trending in the Right Direction
The Minnesota Vikings have played four games without kicker Will Reichard and incidentally won them all.
One Injured Viking Trending in the Right Direction
Replacement specialist Parker Romo filled in wonderfully for Reichard, but Reichard is on his way back to the lineup — and could be available this Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said Wednesday about the returns of Reichard and long snapper Andrew DePaola, who also missed four games: “Barring any setbacks, hoping to have both of them back.”
Welcoming Reichard back would either land Romo — now a fan favorite — on the practice squad or the free-agent wire. If Romo sniffs the open market, a needy NFL is almost certain to sign the upstart kicker.
Reichard injured his quad in Week 9 during a win over the Indianapolis Colts. Before that game, he kicked perfectly for the Vikings, an astounding start to his young career, especially for a team with notoriously rotten kicker luck. The Alabama alumnus kicked so well through eight weeks that Vikings fans could almost put their routine kicker anxiety to bed.
Then, when Romo took over, the kicking majesty continued. The relatively unknown special teamer provided all points for Minnesota in a messy win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 10. Two weeks later, he nailed a game-winner at Soldier Field as the Vikings toppled the rival Chicago Bears by a whisker.
Minnesota found Reichard in Round 6 of April’s draft, and he immediately solidified the kicking job. For years — decades, even — Vikings fans have lived with kicker-related dread, dating back to the 1998 NFC Championship. Outside of a stretch with kicker Ryan Longwell 15 years ago, snakebitten tendencies have accompanied Vikings football, and that’s just the way it is. For two months, Reichard changed that. He inspired confidence and dependability.
Back in April, some purple onlookers were initially confused by the Reichard draft selection. A handful of football fans don’t believe in investing draft capital in kickers, considering them “non-premium” players. But Minnesota disagreed and used a 6th-Round pick on Reichard. Few have complained since about the pick.
Minnesota ranks ninth in the NFL through 13 weeks per field goal percentage, connecting on 89% of all attempts. In 2023, the Vikings ranked 27th per the metric. The year before that? 27th, as well.
The Vikings host Kirk Cousins at the Falcons this weekend and are expected to prevail by 5.5 points. Sunday will mark Cousins’ first game in U.S. Bank Stadium as a visitor.
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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 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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