The Minnesota Vikings made the tough call to move on from kicker Greg Joseph this offseason and replace him with rookie Will Reichard, who is off to a fantastic start for the purple and gold during the 2024 NFL season.
Joseph spent training camp with the Green Bay Packers and had a stint on the Detroit Lions practice squad but recently found a new home on the 53-man roster of an NFL squad that is off to a rough start,
Giants sign unreliable former Vikings kicker after Week 2 embarrassment
The New York Giants fell to the Vikings in Week 1 and suffered a crushing loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 2. The three-point loss to their division rival hurts because seven Austin Seibert field goals put New York away.
Giants' kicker Graham Gano injured his hamstring on the opening kickoff of Sunday's game, resulting in zero field goal attempts and one missed extra point try for punter Jamie Gillan. That created a huge need for New York to add a kicker before the start of Week 3.
NFL agent Brett Tessler announced on X that his client, Greg Joseph, is being signed from the Detroit Lions practice squad to the active roster of the New York Giants and listed some highlights of the kicker's resume in the post.
The New York Giants are signing my client Greg Joseph to their active roster from the Detroit Lions p-squad. 7-yr vet kicked for the Vikings the past 3 seasons and holds NFL record for game-winners in a season (5), Vikings record for longest FG (61 yds), & led NFL in TB% in '21.
— Brett Tessler (@TesslerSports) September 17, 2024
Joseph connected on 82.2 percent of his field goal tries with the Minnesota Vikings, connecting on all but one of his 51 tries from inside 40 yards. However, his accuracy got a bit more questionable as his tries got deeper, connecting on 32 of his 49 kicks from 40 yards or more.
Although Greg Joseph is a bit unreliable on longer kicks, he is a great option to hold down the kicking job for the Giants until Gano can return from his hamstring injury. His kickoff ability and consistency on shorter kicks will be an asset for New York.
While it's nice to see that Greg Joseph will get another opportunity to kick field goals in an NFL game, the Minnesota Vikings have to be pleased with what they have seen in rookie kicker Will Reichard, who was a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Things are going well for Reichard, who has a fun Wal-Mart back-to-school ad. He also replaced his "Striker" nickname with "Will the Thrill" and has vowed not to cut his hair until he misses a kick this season.