Vikings should consider signing recently waived kicker

After he was let go by the Detroit Lions on Thursday, the Minnesota Vikings should think about signing veteran kicker Michael Badgley.

Back in March, the Minnesota Vikings made the surprising decision to re-sign Greg Joseph, despite the fact that the veteran kicker was coming off a 2022 season in which he missed a total of 13 kicks.

For whatever reason, the Vikings didn't feel like there were many options that were better than bringing back Joseph for another year as their starting kicker. Well, now there might be a better option.

On Thursday, the Detroit Lions made a somewhat surprising choice to waive kicker Michael Badgley. In 13 games as a member of both the Lions and the Chicago Bears last season, Badgely missed a total of four kicks (out of 61 attempts).

Minnesota Vikings need to consider signing former Detroit Lions kicker Michael Badgley before it's too late

When it came to making kicks in the clutch, Joseph was able to come through for Minnesota multiple times in 2022. However, the guy has missed a total of 22 kicks in his last two seasons, including 10 extra points.

Continuity is essential when it comes to the kicking game, and the Vikings are bringing back the same kicker, holder, and long snapper from a year ago. But continuity shouldn't be viewed as such a large factor when the trio of Minnesota specialists were unable to produce any sort of legitimate success when they worked together in 2022.

The Vikings might have felt there weren't any decent enough kicking options available earlier this offseason. But there is now in Badgely, and Minnesota should strongly consider bringing him in to compete with Joseph to be the team's starting kicker for next season.

This is a decision that has to be made quickly though. The Vikings likely can't just wait and see if Joseph struggles this summer because there's a good chance that Badgely is already going to have a new team by the start of the regular season.

So if Minnesota wants to ensure that their kicking game doesn't become a problem in 2023, then bringing someone in like Badgely to compete with Joseph sooner than later is something that absolutely needs to be considered.