Vikings cut punter Ryan Quigley, replace him with Matt Wile

The Minnesota Vikings made a somewhat surprising move as they released Ryan Quigley after winning a claim for journeyman Matt Wile.

One day after the Minnesota Vikings set their 53-man roster, the moves have continued to come throughout the National Football League.

On Sunday, the Vikings made another surprising move by cutting punter Ryan Quigley after they won a claim for Matt Wile.

Wile has been a journeyman in the NFL after entering the league out of the University of Michigan in 2014. During his four seasons in the league, he’s spent time with the Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, and Atlanta Falcons before spending this preseason with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Minnesota Vikings

During Wile’s time in the league, he’s appeared in four games, all of which came in the 2016 season during stints with the Falcons and Cardinals. The 26-year-old averaged 46.1 yards per punt (43 net yards per punt) in those games with one of his attempts being blocked.

For Quigley, his release comes as somewhat of a surprise. He was coming off a terrific season with the Vikings in 2017 as he went the entire season without a touchback. Despite his accuracy, distance was not one of his strong suits with his 39.2 yard net average ranking 29th in the NFL.

Quigley’s preseason likely sealed his fate as he struggled to put Minnesota in good field position and had one of his attempts partially blocked in the preseason finale against Tennessee.

The writing could have possibly been on the wall sooner as the Vikings expressed interest in Pro Bowl punter Marquette King before he signed with the Denver Broncos this past offseason.

Either way, Minnesota will go in a different direction with a new kicker (Daniel Carlson) and punter heading into the 2018 season.