Report: Vikings releasing long snapper Kevin McDermott

The Minnesota Vikings have reportedly decided on a winner in one of their top positional battles this summer and they are releasing veteran long snapper Kevin McDermott.

From the second the Minnesota Vikings used a draft pick on long snapper Austin Cutting this year, Kevin McDermott should have already known that his time in the Twin Cities was likely over.

On Sunday, the inevitable came to fruition as it was reported by NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero that the Vikings have decided to release McDermott from his duties with the team.

After signing with Minnesota in 2015, McDermott has been the team’s long snapper ever since. To get the job, he actually beat out veteran Vikings long snapper Cullen Loeffler, who was with the team for more than 10 years.

Following his first season with Minnesota, the team awarded McDermott with a four-year contract extension. It appeared as though he was going to remain with the Vikings for quite awhile just as Loeffler did.

However, new Minnesota special teams coach Marwan Maalouf obviously feels Cutting is the better guy for the job this season.

Interestingly enough, this decision comes on the same day that the Vikings reportedly acquired punter/kicker Kaare Vedvik in a trade with the Baltimore Ravens.

Improving their special teams, especially their kicking game, is clearly a top priority for Minnesota this year. However, all of these moves seem to be coming at an odd time.

The Vikings’ current kicker, holder, and long snapper combo are not going to have much time to get comfortable with each other before the regular season begins in a few weeks. It just seems like a potential disaster in the making for Minnesota.

But who knows, maybe all of these late-summer decisions will result in the Vikings seeing a great improvement in their kicking situation? It’s not like Minnesota has made any poor choices with their kicking game in the recent past, right Daniel Carlson?