Top NFL kicker no longer a possibility for the Vikings in 2019

The chance of Robbie Gould landing with the Minnesota Vikings this year disappeared on Tuesday when the the San Francisco 49ers placed the franchise tag on him.

Finding a new kicker is easily one of the most important tasks for the Minnesota Vikings to accomplish this offseason. The Vikings’ kicking game has been a problem for the franchise for awhile and fixing it needs to be a made a top priority this year.

A number of talented kickers are expected to be available in free agency this offseason, however, one of them will no longer be an option for Minnesota to pursue.

On Tuesday, the San Francisco 49ers decided to place their franchise tag on kicker Robbie Gould. In 2018, Gould made 33 of his 34 field goal attempts and 27 of his 29 extra point tries.

He was easily going to be the top kicker available in free agency this year and trying to sign him would have been a wise decision for the Vikings to make. But the 49ers obviously recognized Gould’s talent and decided to not even let him test the free-agent market this offseason.

It’s unfortunate, however, the chance of him landing in Minnesota never seemed too high to begin with. But now it doesn’t even matter as Gould will be back playing in a San Francisco uniform next season.

Even with him no longer on the market, there are still some talented kickers who are scheduled to be available in free agency this year. Guys like Stephen Gostkowski, Matt Bryant, Sebastian Janikowski, Dan Bailey, and Jason Myers are all good options for the Vikings to consider this offseason.

Minnesota just has to make sure they actually take their search for a new kicker seriously this year. Or else it will just be more of the same when it comes to the Vikings’ kicking game in 2019.