Greg Joseph Will Need to Earn His Roster Spot
K. Joudry
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The Vikings were wise to bring back Greg Joseph.
Life in the NFL hasn’t been easy for the veteran kicker. In the league since 2018, Joseph has been with the Browns, Titans, Bucs, and Vikings. He was part of the Tampa Bay team that won the Super Bowl, though as a practice squad kicker.
All things considered, he performed well for the Vikings last season. Many fans will point to crucial misses, and those criticisms are valid. Where I’ll give Joseph credit, though, is in his resilience. He made his mistakes; he went on to perform well afterwards.
By the end of the year, he had gone 7/9 from 50+. He also did well on kickoffs, forcing the opposition to start from their own 25 the vast majority of the time.
The Vikings’ new leaderships obviously saw enough in him to want him back. They gave him a right-of-first-refusal tender, a designation that comes with a $2.433 million cap charge. That money isn’t insignificant, though it comes with one important caveat: none of it is guaranteed.
The Vikings could cut Greg Joseph and be left with no financial penalty.
That reality means the veteran will need to earn his spot once training camp rolls around. The Vikings should make him earn it. If the team really does want to compete in 2022, it’ll need to have field goals in clutch situations. Bring some pressure in during the offseason to ensure Joseph can continue to handle it as he tries to set himself apart from the competition.
Ryan Ficken, last season’s special teams coordinator, did a nice job with his end of things last year. Matt Daniels is the new coordinator, and he’ll need to ensure the special teams continue heading in the right direction. Greg Joseph is going to be a main part of the equation, and Step 1 means proving he’s the best option at kicker.
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