After three misses, Vikings cut kicker

EAGAN, Minnesota — With a roster built for the Super Bowl, the Minnesota Vikings were in no position to practise patience with a struggling kicker.

Rather than hoping Daniel Carlson could refocus after missing all three of his field goal attempts in the tie game at Green Bay, the Vikings waived the rookie on Monday and punted on the fifth-round draft pick they used on him five months ago.

Two of Carlson’s misses came in overtime on Sunday, forcing the Vikings to settle for a 29-29 draw with the rival Packers. When asked by a reporter how the decision was reached, coach Mike Zimmer said, “Did you see the game?”

Carlson missed from 48 yards in the second quarter and 49 yards in the extra period, before his 35-yard try on the game’s final play also went wide right.

“Yeah, it was pretty easy,” Zimmer said.

The Vikings didn’t immediately add a replacement for Carlson, but Zimmer confirmed that free agent Dan Bailey was making his way to Minnesota for a physical exam. Bailey is the second-most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history. The 30-year-old was released by the Dallas Cowboys right before the regular season began in a cost-saving move following his injury-influenced regression in 2017.

Bailey hurt his groin in the sixth game of the season at San Francisco and missed the next four weeks. Upon his return, he missed five of 13 field goal attempts and also had the first two failed extra points of his sevenyear NFL career. With a field goal rate greater than 88 per cent, Bailey is behind only Baltimore’s Justin Tucker for the best percentage in league history.