Former Vikings kicker only lasts a game with the Jets

One week into the 2019 season, former Minnesota Vikings kicker Kaare Vedvik is already being replaced as the kicker of the New York Jets.

Not too long ago, the Minnesota Vikings felt they acquired someone who could potentially solve their recent kicking troubles. That someone was Kaare Vedvik and to land him, the Vikings sent a 2020 fifth-round draft pick to the Baltimore Ravens in August.

Despite using one of Rick Spielman’s prized draft selections to acquire Vedvik, he didn’t even make Minnesota’s final 2019 roster. Thanks to missing a bunch of kicks during his preseason appearances with the Vikings, the team decided they were better off sticking with veteran Dan Bailey as their kicker this year.

It didn’t take long for Vedvik to land with another team though. He was eventually picked up by the New York Jets before the start of the regular season and he entered Week 1 as their starting kicker.

However, his tenure in New York is already over. After Vedvik missed a field goal and an extra point attempt during the Jets’ 17-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, New York waived him and signed Sam Ficken on Tuesday to be their new kicker moving forward.

It’s unfortunate for Vedvik, who seemed to have a lot of promise prior to putting on a purple and gold Vikings jersey. But Minnesota has essentially become a place where kickers’ careers go to die in the recent past and he seems to just be the latest casualty.

Vedvik is regarded as both a punter and a kicker, so maybe he should try and focus more on punting if he wants to keep a job in the NFL. Because it seems pretty likely that he’s run out of opportunities to be a kicker in the league.