The Most Consistent Viking Is Back for Year 7
After a quiet day to start free agency, the Minnesota Vikings continue to focus on their in-house talent. Punter Ryan Wright and receiver Jalen Nailor signed elsewhere, but the franchise has taken care of linebacker Eric Wilson.
On Tuesday, Andrew DePaola was announced as another signing. He’ll return for a seventh season in purple.
Adam Schefter reported on social media, “Three-time Pro-Bowl long snapper Andrew DePaola is returning to the Minnesota Vikings on a one-year, fully-guaranteed $1.725 million deal, per
@seanstellato. DePaola now will be snapping for his 12th NFL season.”
DePaola, Minnesota’s long snapper, might be the team’s most consistent player. He has been voted to three Pro Bowls and has been named first-team All-Pro twice and second-team All-Pro twice.
The specialist was viewed as a retirement candidate at 38.
Our own Kyle Joudry had the opportunity to chat with DePaola last summer. Joudry wrote, “He understands that his body will only hold up for so long, but DePaola’s intention is to keep the good times rolling: ‘Gosh, I guess there’s factors that are going to come into play, right? I think the biggest one being my body.’ He noted that being married to a dietician helps; adjusting his diet over the years has made a major difference.”
He’ll add another year to his track record.
DePaola continued, “I think there’s a day that will come for all of us, and I don’t see that day for me anytime soon. But I know it will come, and hopefully I have a clear head when it does.”
Long snappers are often afterthoughts in the NFL landscape and folks don’t particularly pay attention to them unless they botch a snap. The fact that he never does speaks for itself. Barely any fan can name the long snapper of their own team, but DePaola is a staple in the Twin Cities. It’s widely established that DePaola is the best at what he does in the NFL.
Therefore, it’s unsurprising that DePaola just landed the league’s top salary at his position. Joe Cardona signed a two-year deal worth $3.45 million with the Rams, which is now tied with DePaola for the most lucrative long snapper deal in the NFL on a per-year basis.
Of course, it’s worth noting that in today’s NFL, with players regularly signing massive contracts, those differences in the thousands barely matter in the bigger picture.
The Vikings have already lost punter Ryan Wright, who also functions as the holder on Will Reichard’s kicks. Because continuity is crucial to a functioning kicking battery, having at least one of the two specialists back in the mix is a positive sign, especially when it is a snapping star like DePaola.
He initially signed with the Vikings in the 2020 season as struggles in the special teams unit transpired and has been the team’s long snapper ever since. The veteran was available that year, after missing all but one game in 2018 with a torn ACL. When failing to clinch a roster spot with the Panthers in 2019, he sat out the season. After a long break of about 26 months, he returned to action in November 2020.
In his long career, DePaola has worn the colors of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (48 games), Chicago Bears (16 games), Oakland Raiders (1 game; yes, Oakland), and the Vikings (88 games).
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.