Vikings Now Have the Chance to Throw a Curveball at Unsettled Roster Spot
The Vikings now have the chance to welcome a promising young punter to town. That is, if there’s a desire to do so.
Recent months have featured fourth-year punter Ryan Wright seeking to hold off rookie Oscar Chapman. The pair are (obviously) primarily responsible for giving the team the best possible field position. So, too, do they need to help on field goals as the holder for Will Reichard. Any chance neither will end up as the P1 with Minnesota in 2025? A recent roster transaction from a different NFL team opens that possibility.
Vikings Now Have Chance to Add Young Punter
First, the update, one that arrives from Aaron Wilson: “#Saints releasing rookie punter James Burnip @AlabamaFTBL per league sources, as he lost tight battle for job.”
Before getting ahead of ourselves, there’s an obvious detail that needs to be addressed: Minnesota (in theory) could have signed Burnip after the 2025 NFL Draft. They did not. Instead, Chapman arrived as an undrafted punter to compete with Wright.
In fact, Chapman earned a decent bit more in guaranteed money ($72,500) than Burnip ($35,000). The money offers a pretty convincing hint: Minnesota preferred the Auburn alumnus over the Alabama alumnus.
Has anything changed within these past few months?
Working in James Burnip’s favor is his college career at Alabama. The rookie will already have chemistry with Reichard since they were both key specialists for the college powerhouse. His numbers were quite promising while with the Crimson Tide, launching 52 punts for 2,359 yards in 2024. That works out to a strong 45.4 yards-per-punt average.
Rarely do punters get chosen in the draft, but Lance Zierlein felt that Burnip should have been an exception. The scouting analyst for the league website assigned a 4th-5th Round grade on Burnip.
Consider the assessment: “Long-levered punter who hits the ball with consistent ball flight and hang time to rack up impressive net totals. Burnip showed improvement with his touch punts and ability to bury teams inside their own territory while proving he could consistently flip the field. He needs to prove he can build on his 2024 results, but Burnip has the tools to become an NFL punter.”
Mr. Burnip got to launch a trio of punts in his debut preseason game.
Indeed, New Orleans took on the Chargers on August 10th. Burnip’s three punts went for a total of 101 yards, working out to a modest average of 33.7 yards per punt. A critical detail, however, is that a pair of those punts landed inside the 20, suggesting that placement — not distance — was the coveted goal in those opportunities. Check out one great outcome for the punter:
Burnip launched two punts in the Jaguars game from August 17th. He had a 43.5 yards-per-punt average while landing one inside of the 20.
The Saints’ final preseason game didn’t involve James Burnip getting to send the ball soaring.
James Burnip has an impressive build at 6’6″ and 235 pounds. Look for him to get another chance at punting somewhere in the NFL. Quite possibly, that opportunity could even arrive with the Vikings.
Teams need to have their rosters down to 53 men by tomorrow at 3 p.m. CT.
Editor’s Note: Information from Sports Reference CFB and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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