4 recent Vikings that didn’t live up to the hype during their tenure

Player No. 2

Dan Bailey - K (2018 - 2020)

Kickers during the Mike Zimmer era didn't have a very long shelf life on Minnesota's roster. However, Dan Bailey managed to last almost three whole seasons with the Vikings before they decided to part ways in 2021.

Bailey was signed by Minnesota two games into the 2018 season after Zimmer quickly became fed up with rookie kicker Daniel Carlson.

Before Bailey joined the Vikings, he spent seven years as a member of the Dallas Cowboys, and during that time period, he was one of the most accurate kickers in the history of the NFL. So there was certainly a ton of hype surrounding the veteran kicker when Minnesota signed him in 2018.

Unfortunately, like most kickers during the Zimmer era, Bailey struggled. He was only able to convert 75 percent of his field goal attempts in 2018, which ranked 31st in the league. Bailey got back on track in 2019, but then he fell off again in 2020 when he missed a total of 13 kicks (seven field goals and six extra points).

Overall, Bailey finished his three years with the Vikings with a 79.7 field goal percentage and 11 missed extra points. Nothing close to the numbers people thought he would put together when Minnesota signed him in 2018.