Will the Vikings’ special teams be better or worse in 2019?

Full offseason for Bailey and Wile

It’s really kind of crazy to think about, but both Matt Wile and Dan Bailey were late additions to the Vikings’ roster a season ago.

Wile was brought in at the end of the 2018 preseason after Minnesota’s final cuts were made. The Vikings let veteran punter Ryan Quigley go and signed a guy in Wile who had just been released by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Bailey joined Minnesota after the team’s Week 2 tie with the Green Bay Packers last season. The Vikings’ previous kicker, rookie Daniel Carlson, won the job after a shaky preseason but then he completely melted down in the second game of the year against the Packers. Bailey was signed two days after that matchup and he remained Minnesota’s kicker for the rest of the season.

It’s pretty rare that both a team’s punter and kicker weren’t around for training camp and the preseason, but that’s what happened for the Vikings in 2018. It is possible that them being late additions to Minnesota had a negative effect on their play last season.

They both had to relocate quickly and move their families to a new town. They also had to get acclimated to new coaches, new teammates, and new surroundings. That isn’t an easy thing to do.

This shouldn’t be a problem for either Bailey or Wile in 2019. They now have some stability and familiarity with the Vikings organization. They know the majority of their teammates now and each will get to have all the extra reps during the upcoming preseason that they missed out on in 2018.

This familiarity with Minnesota should yield better results for both Bailey and Wile this year. Both kicking and punting require a lot of mental strength and both players should be in a better and more comfortable state of mind for 2019.