Greg Joseph Has a New Job
The Minnesota Vikings are 2-0, with some outstanding contributions from the new guys. Free-agent additions Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman have stolen the show on defense, although Jonathan Greenard and the cornerbacks Shaq Griffin and Stephon Gilmore have done quite well, too.
Greg Joseph Has a New Job
On offense, Aaron Jones and elevated longtime backup lineman Blake Brandel have been excellent additions, reviving the subpar rushing attack.
The special teams have gotten a makeover, as well. Will Reichard has yet to miss his first regular-season kick with the Vikings. Outside of a blocked field goal in the preseason, he has been perfect in game action.
His predecessor, Greg Joseph, hasn’t attempted a kick this season as he couldn’t get one of the 32 available placekicker jobs. Two games into the season, however, that has changed. The New York Giants, Minnesota’s Week 1 opponent, has hired the veteran.
His agent, Brett Tessler, tweeted on Tuesday: “The New York Giants are signing my client Greg Joseph to their active roster from the Detroit Lions p-squad. 7-yr vet kicked for the Vikings the past 3 seasons and holds NFL record for game-winners in a season (5), Vikings record for longest FG (61 yds), & led NFL in TB% in ’21.”
New York’s kicker Graham Gano didn’t play in Week 2 because of a hamstring injury, and his absence was a big reason for their loss. They couldn’t hit an extra point after their three touchdowns and lost the game by three points. Gano is one of the most reliable kickers if healthy, but an injury cost him the majority of the 2023 season, and he is expected to be sidelined for a few weeks. He will miss at least four games as he was placed on IR.
But that allows Joseph to get some playing time and perhaps show other teams that he could be an upgrade over their kickers.
In three seasons with the Vikings, Joseph appeared in 51 games, hitting 83 of 101 field goals and 112 of 124 extra points. The latter was a major concern for a while. He still holds the record for the longest field goal in the franchise’s history, a 61-yard game-winner against the New York Giants on Christmas Eve in 2022.
Throughout his tenure in the Twin Cities, he hit 82.2% of his field goals, ranking him 32nd of 42 players with at least 20 field goal attempts. His 90.3% extra point percentage ranked him 37th of 42 kickers with at least 20 extra point attempts. Of course, it is not hard to see why the Vikings decided to address the position in the draft instead of re-upping his contract.
He joined the Packers in the offseason, having a camp competition with Anders Carlson ‒ the brother of former Vikings kicker Daniel Carlson, who was cut after only two games. At the end of the day, the Packers decided to part ways with both.
Joseph then signed with Detroit’s practice squad just last week, waiting for his opportunity. He only had to wait a few days and will be back on the NFL field on Sunday when the Giants hope to win their first game of the season in Cleveland against the Browns.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt