Report: Minnesota Vikings expected to re-sign punter Matt Wile

After spending the 2018 season in purple, the Minnesota Vikings felt the young punter did enough convince them to bring him back for another year.

Heading into the 2019 offseason, there was a chance that the Minnesota Vikings would have to find a brand new punter and kicker. However, it appears that the Vikings could at least have some continuity when it comes to their punting situation next season.

According to the Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson on Tuesday, Minnesota and Matt Wile have agreed to a new one-year deal worth $645,000 that will keep the punter on the team’s roster for 2019.

Prior to this news, Wile was scheduled to become an exclusive rights free-agent at the start of the new league year on March 13.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the 26-year-old punter decided to re-sign with the Vikings, since his only other option was to not play next season due to the team designating him as an exclusive rights free-agent. So it was a pretty easy choice for him to make.

Last year with Minnesota was Wile’s first full season as a punter in the NFL since he entered the league in 2015. He played in all 16 games for the Vikings and he averaged 45.2 yards per punt.

Of all the punters in the NFL, Wile finished with the fourth-best average hangtime per punt in 2018. He also had the third-longest punt of anyone last season (70 yards).

If there is one thing Wile needs to work on for 2019, it would actually be hs holding abilities on field goal attempts. Just getting out on the field when he’s supposed to would be a step in the right direction for him next season.

Given his cheap price, there’s no guarantee that Wile will be a part of Minnesota’s final roster in 2019. For now though, Minnesota at least has a decent punter under contract for next season if they can’t find anyone else for the job.

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