Vikings Replace Colquitt with Jordan Berry

Mike Zimmer Vikings Head Coach
May 26, 2021; Eagan, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer at OTA at TCO Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

It looked like the Vikings were just pulling off some more roster shenanigans when they released Britton Colquitt. It even looked like the Vikings brought Colquitt back. Instead, they’ve opted for former Steelers punter Jordan Berry.

Berry – a six-year veteran – has spent his entire career in Pittsburgh. On average, Berry’s best season actually happened in 2020. He had a 45.8 average per punt. For comparison, Colquitt averaged 45.1 yards a punt.

Here is what the Vikings.com article had to say: “Berry has appeared in 91 regular-season games with a career average of 44.4 yards per punt. The 45.8 yards per punt by Berry in 11 games last season was the highest average of his career. In seven playoff games, Berry has averaged 40.1 yards per punt.”

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”855889″ player=”26281″ title=”NFL%20roster%20cuts%2010%20most%20surprising%20moves” duration=”64″ description=”NFL cut down day is not fun for hundreds of players around the league. That took place on Tuesday, roughly a week before the 2021 regular season gets going with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosting the Dallas Cowboys.As is usually the case, there were some pretty big surprises as NFL teams cut their rosters down to 53. Below, we look at the 10 biggest surprises from around the league.” uploaddate=”2021-09-01″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/snapshot/855308.png” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/855308/855308.m3u8″]

Many fans overlook the punter position. There’s no debating that it isn’t as important as corner, edge rusher, or QB. Nevertheless, it’s one of the positions that becomes supremely important once the player begins to struggle. You can notice when a punter doesn’t do his job.

Zim continually preaches about the importance of complementary football. The basic idea is that all the phases of football are interconnected. If the special teams doesn’t do a good job of punting the ball, then the defense will have a tougher time defending. Field position is supremely important for a Mike Zimmer team.

Berry will need to have thick skin to succeed in Minnesota. Zim can be terse with his specialists. After the opening preseason game, Zim was blunt in his assessment of Colquitt, noting that the veteran’s struggles gave him reason for concern. Well, Berry has been brought in as the replacement. Let’s collectively hope that he can not only give us longer punts, but also allows us to pin the opponent in their own 20 on a consistent basis.

Share: