Kicker is a position the Minnesota Vikings could and should look to upgrade in free agency in the 2023 offseason.
The Minnesota Vikings have a long and tortured history when it comes to kickers. They have had some heartbreaking misses that have ousted them from playoff and championship games. They’ve also cut ties too early with some that have turned out to be very good, opting for a kicker who ends up sucking and getting released a season later.
Minnesota’s kicker for the last two years, Greg Joseph, summed up the history of the position quite well during his 2022 season.
He made some extremely clutch kicks but also missed his fair share of extra points that caused games to be much closer than they should’ve been. His 78.8 field goal percentage won’t be hard to upgrade from, and there are plenty of options on the market.
The Vikings could go a couple of different ways. They could look for a younger kicker and let him age with the team or go with a crusty veteran who is down to his final few seasons in the league.
Here are seven free-agent kickers Minnesota could sign in free agency 2023.
Robbie Gould
2022 Team: San Francisco 49ers
Robbie Gould is one of the old men the Vikings could look to bring in to be their kicker. He was recently not franchise-tagged by the San Francisco 49ers, who could be looking to go younger and cheaper at the position.
Gould will command more on the market, and it’s for good reason. He’s been extremely reliable over the last 17 seasons. He’s hit 86.5 percent of his kicks and made 97.5 percent of his extra points over all those seasons in the league. Last year he made 84.4 percent of his kicks and nailed 98% of his extra points. His long in 2022 was from 51 yards, so he still has plenty of power in that right leg of his.
Gould would give the Vikings an experienced and reliable option at the kicker position. They wouldn’t have to hold their breath every time he trots out onto the field. He’s been doing this a very long time and has been in plenty of big-time spots, and won’t get rattled under pressure.
This could be one of the best signings the Vikings could make, and while he wouldn’t last more than a couple of seasons at age 40, he would give the team the best chance to win close games.
Riley Patterson
2022 Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
Maybe the Vikings upgrade the kicker position by bringing back an old friend. Riley Patterson was an undrafted free agent of the Vikings back in 2021. He ended up getting injured and released with an injury settlement at the end of camp. He then dinked around the league for a bit, having stints with the Patriots and Lions before settling in Jacksonville in 2022.
He ended up kicking in 17 games for the Jaguars nailing 85.7 percent of his field goals and making all but one of his extra points. The longest attempt he hit was from 52 yards, so he has plenty of leg.
Patterson should be one of the cheaper options on the market because he doesn’t have that much experience. He’s only had one full season as a team’s kicker, not having anywhere the career attempts of some of the older options available.
Patterson has a lot of upside, as he’s just 23-years-old. If the Vikings want to go young and potentially find a long-term solution at the position, Patterson could be the route they choose.
Matt Prater
2022 Team: Arizona Cardinals
Matt Prater is a guy the Vikings and their fans should be very familiar with. He was a long-time kicker for the Detroit Lions who NEVER seemed to miss when he was kicking against the Vikings. It didn’t matter if it was from 60 yards out, or if he had five guys in his face, or if he had just half a leg, Prater rarely missed when he played at or against Minnesota.
Knowing that and seeing what a big leg this guy has, the Vikings could come to terms with a former enemy. Prater has been kicking in the league since way back in 2007. He started his career with a brief stint in Atlanta before signing with the Broncos. He kicked for them for seven seasons before going to Detroit and then Arizona for the last two years.
Prater’s career field goal percentage is a respectable 83.3. He’s also made 555 out of 570 extra-point attempts. His leg is huge, with his longest field goal made coming from 64 yards away. Another positive for Prater is that he’s familiar with kicking in the stadiums in the NFC North, having done it for the better half of a decade.
Prater is nearing the end of his impressive career, and the Vikings could bring him in as an experienced and reliable option.
Matt Gay
2022 Team: Los Angeles Rams
Any time a former Rams player becomes available, Vikings fans should take notice. There are plenty of former Rams coaches on the Vikings staff, including head coach Kevin O’Connell, so if someone comes available that he’s familiar with, it does make sense to take a deeper look.
Matt Gay is coming off of two very stellar seasons. He hit 94.1 percent of his field goals in 2021, and in 2022 he hit 93.3 percent of his attempts. He also made 98 and 96.9 percent of his extra points, so he is definitely more reliable than Greg Joseph.
Gay is still relatively young at 28 years old. He’s also got one of the stronger legs of the kickers mentioned here, hitting from 58 yards multiple times. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of market there is for him. He may be one of the spendier options out there, but he’d give the Vikings a steady presence at the position for the next handful of seasons.
Chase McLaughlin
2022 Team: Indianapolis Colts
Look at this, another former Viking kicker is on the open market and looks to be an upgrade over what they had a season ago. McClaughlin has actually had two stints with the Vikings after a whirlwind start to his NFL career.
He was an undrafted free agent of the Buffalo Bills. He was then signed to the Vikings practice squad but released 10 days later. He then spent time with the Chargers, then the 49ers, then the Colts, then back to the Vikings.
The Jaguars signed him off the Vikings practice squad, and a few weeks later was waived and then claimed by the New York Jets. He then signed with the Browns but was waived after the 2022 NFL Draft. The Colts brought him back for a second tour after Rodrigo Blankenship struggled, and he remained their kicker the rest of the season.
So for those of you keeping score, that is eight teams in four years in the league, which is exhausting. Anyway, McLaughlin does appear to be an upgrade for the Vikings. He hit 83.3 percent of his field goals and made every single one of his extra points.
He is still young and wouldn’t break the bank. McLaughlin could come to Minnesota for the third time if they sign him in free agency. Maybe this time, he’ll stick around for a few years.
Greg Zuerlein
2022 Team: New York Jets
Could the Vikings replace one Greg with another? It’s possible. Legatron, as Zuerlein has been known, has been a pretty steady and accurate kicker for the better part of his 10-year career in the NFL.
He spent the majority of his career with the Rams before signing with Dallas in 2020. He then went on to the Jets in 2022, where he hit 30 of 37 field goals and made 96.6 percent of his extra-point attempts.
That Legatron moniker still holds true at age 35, as Zuerlein nailed one from 60 yards out a season ago. Of all the options listed, Zuerlein has the strongest chance of being the next Greg Joseph.
He’s had some pretty bad years in the league, hitting a dismal 66.7 percent of his attempts in 2015 and 72.7 percent back in 2019. The positive part of that is, is he’s bounced back the following season every time.
Zuerlein isn’t a long-term solution for the Vikings at the kicker position, but he could be a nice steady option for a season or two. The fact he’ll be kicking the majority of his games in a controlled environment is a positive, and he’s still got plenty of leg to hit from way out.
Mason Crosby
2022 Team: Green Bay Packers
The Vikings have done it before. They have signed a kicker from their hated rival and found success. Ryan Longwell was a former Green Bay Packer who the Vikings signed as a free agent in 2006. He went on to kick for the Purple for six seasons and kicked very well at that. Could history repeat itself with Mason Crosby? We will find out in a couple of weeks.
Crosby has been kicking for the Packers since back in 2007. He has a career percentage of 81.4 and has hit 97.3 percent of his extra points.
Crosby has been a little up and down in recent years, having plenty of games where he misses some very makeable kicks. He did improve on a pretty poor 2021 season last year, hitting a solid 86.2 percent of his kicks.
Crosby does have a strong leg, with a career-long of 58 yards. Like Matt Prater, he’s familiar with kicking in all the stadiums in the NFC North, and that is a bonus.
The question is, will the Vikings shell out money for a 38-year-old kicker who is far from automatic? Maybe, maybe not. One thing that is for sure is that Mason Crosby would be an upgrade over Greg Joseph even at this late stage of his career.