Blair Walsh - Pro Football Rumors

Vikings Haven’t Ruled Out Replacing Blair Walsh

November 14th, 2016 at 7:37pm CST by Ben Levine

Following another subpar outing from Blair Walsh on Sunday, the Vikings may be in the market for a kicker. According to Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com, coach Mike Zimmer didn’t rule out replacing the slumping kicker. The reporter tweets that the team has yet to make a decision regarding the position, although he notes that the coach is set to meet with general manager Rick Spielman on Monday evening.

“We’re going to see what all the options are,” Zimmer said. “We’re going to see what the options are at kicker and then make a determination and go.”

Walsh, a five-year veteran, missed another extra point during this past weekend’s loss to the Redskins. This came a week after the team worked out six kickers, including Kai Forbath and Randy Bullock. Ultimately, the team decided to stick with Walsh.

“I knew how he would react,” special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer said (via ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling). “It kind of lit a fire under him. He got ticked off in a good way, I think, because he’s a competitive young man. When you bring in guys that are potentially going to take your job, guys that want your job, that’s the way you want him to react. If he didn’t react that way, I would be really worried, and we probably would be looking for another guy. He got — I don’t want to say angry, but he got a little fired up in a very respectful way, just like he always is. I expect him to go out and kick well for us this weekend and the rest of the year.”

The Vikings coaching staff’s patience is undoubtedly wearing thin. Walsh’s struggles began during last season’s Wild Card round, when he missed a field goal that could have given his team the victory. The former Pro Bowler’s struggles have carried over to this season, as Walsh has only connected on 75-percent of his field goals and 15-of-19 extra point attempts. For comparison’s sake, the 26-year-old made 87-percent of his field goal attempts in 2015.

NFC Notes: Romo, Vaccaro, Vikings

November 11th, 2016 at 9:37pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Quarterback Tony Romo is unlikely to be in uniform when the Cowboys face the Steelers on Sunday, but when he does return from a back injury, it seems probable he’ll serve as rookie standout Dak Prescott‘s backup. If that happens, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones expects Romo to accept the role with grace. “Any athlete who’s played a sport they want to contribute and certainly he does,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Friday (via Max Meyer of NFL.com). “At the same time Tony’s the consummate team player and I think if it meant as part of the process with Tony going into games as a backup then, I don’t want to speak for him, but my guess would be that he would.” The answer will come soon enough, as the four-time Pro Bowler practiced in full this week. If Romo isn’t active Sunday (he’s currently questionable), he should be back for the Cowboys’ Week 11 matchup against Baltimore.

Vikings To Stick With Kicker Blair Walsh

November 8th, 2016 at 2:59pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings worked out multiple kickers today, but they won’t be signing any of them at this time. Minnesota is planning to stick with Blair Walsh, a league source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

In last year’s Wild Card round, Walsh missed a chip shot field goal at the end of the game and ended the Vikings’ season. Before that, he was 30-for-31 on field goal attempts inside of 30 yards for his career. Since then, Walsh’s struggles have continued.

Most recently, Walsh missed an extra point attempt and had a field goal blocked as the Vikings lost to the Lions 22-16. This season, Walsh is just 12-16 on field goal attempts, giving him a completion percentage that puts him in the bottom third of the NFL.

Kai Forbath and Randy Bullock were among the kickers to audition for Minnesota.

Vikings To Audition Kickers

November 7th, 2016 at 5:55pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings are set to audition a group of kickers on Tuesday, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter). The workout will include Kai Forbath, tweets Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Randy Bullock is also likely to be a part of that group, but it’s not clear who else will be participating. In total, there should be four or five kickers in attendance, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter).

On Sunday, Blair Walsh missed an extra point attempt and had a field goal blocked as the Vikings lost to the Lions 22-16. This year, Walsh is just 12-16 on field goal attempts, though it should be noted that three of those misses came from more than 40 yards away.

Bullock was part of a group of kickers that worked out for the Bengals recently, along with Zach Hocker and Forbath. As of right now, the Bengals have not made a change at kicker and are forging ahead with Mike Nugent. Bullock served as the Giants’ kicker in the season opener while Josh Brown served his (initial) one-game suspension.

Vikings Not Yet Planning To Try Out Kickers

October 5th, 2016 at 9:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Blair Walsh‘s struggles have not prompted Mike Zimmer to seek outside competition to push the embattled kicker, yet, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The third-year Vikings coach said it’s not yet time to invite competition for the team’s fifth-year kicker despite his issues since the Vikes’ painful wild-card defeat.

Walsh has a first-team All-Pro honor, in 2012, on his resume and has only missed five field goals in a season once — in 2014. Even last year before the disastrous 27-yard miss that would have beaten the Seahawks, he made 34-of-39 tries. However, the Vikings’ stellar start this season hasn’t included one from their place kicker.

The 26-year-old has missed three field goals (8-for-11) and two extra points, giving him the 28th-best conversion rate in the league. While he made all three of his field goals against the Packers and Panthers in Weeks 2-3, he missed from 46 against the Giants on Monday and from 37 against the Titans in Week 1. Walsh missed four PATs last season.

Minnesota signed Walsh to a four-year, $14MM extension last summer, with the deal keeping him under contract with the franchise until the 2019 season. At $3.25MM per year, Walsh is the league’s fifth-highest-paid kicker in terms of AAV.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Vikings GM Expects To Extend Harrison Smith

February 18th, 2016 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Vikings safety Harrison Smith has played four years on his rookie deal, and is under contract for one more year due a fifth-year option. However, general manager Rick Spielman doesn’t expect Smith to be playing in a contract year in 2016, indicating today that he anticipates getting an extension done for the safety sometime in the not-too-distant future, according to Ben Goessling of ESPN.com.

Referring to Smith as one of the “better safeties” in the NFL, Spielman acknowledged with a chuckle that calling him one of the “best” might increase his price. Pro Football Focus, at least, viewed the 27-year-old as the league’s best safety in 2015, ranking him atop the site’s list of 88 qualified players at the position, despite the fact that he only played 13 games. Among safeties, Smith ranked in PFF’s top 10 in terms of pass coverage, run defense, and pass rush grades.

Smith, who earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2015, is set to earn a base salary of $5.278MM in 2016. Any new deal figures to pay him an average annual salary worth much more than that. If the Vikings are willing to pay Smith like one of the NFL’s best safeties, that could mean per-year earnings in the $9-10MM range — Jairus Byrd, Devin McCourty, and Earl Thomas are all making salaries in that neighborhood, per Over the Cap. If Smith were to exceed $10MM per year, he’d surpass Thomas as the league’s highest-paid safety.

While a looming extension for Smith was perhaps the most noteworthy nugget that Spielman dropped today, he made a few more comments worth passing along, so let’s dive in…

Spielman indicated that 2016 will be a pivotal season for Cordarrelle Patterson to show he can be a wide receiver, which suggests Patterson will have a spot on the Vikings’ roster in the fall, tweets Goessling.
The Vikings don’t plan on bringing in any competition for kicker Blair Walsh, whose missed field goal on Wild Card weekend cost Minnesota a chance to beat the Seahawks and advance in the postseason (Twitter link via Goessling).
Defensive back Terence Newman doesn’t have a contract for 2016, and would be the NFL’s oldest defensive player if he decides not to retire, but Spielman believes Newman wants to play this year. As Goessling tweets, the GM added that he thinks Newman is a cornerback, not a safety.

North Notes: AP, Walsh, Manziel, Bears

September 19th, 2015 at 7:20pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is at his best in the shotgun. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is at his best in the I-formation. Bridgewater is eight years younger than Peterson, meaning the Vikings have to consider his development of the utmost importance. That doesn’t mean they’re going to phase Peterson out of their offense, writes Bob McManaman of AZCentral.com. Peterson had just 10 carries for 31 yards in the Vikings’ 20-3 loss in San Francisco on Monday, but offensive coordinator Norv Turner doesn’t expect that lack of usage to become a trend.

“We’re looking at the things we have to do and the things that give us a chance to beat Detroit,” said Turner. “Games come up different and we all know Adrian is a big part of what we do and we want him to be able to have an impact.”

The Vikings’ matchup against the NFC North rival Lions is one of Week 2’s biggest, considering both playoff hopefuls are looking to avoid 0-2 starts. It’ll be interesting to see if Peterson rebounds and tears through the Lions’ defense – something he’s done throughout his career. The 30-year-old has 1,258 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games against Detroit.

Here’s more on the Vikings and a couple other North-based clubs:

The Vikings elected in the offseason to let Peterson’s former lead blocker, fullback Jerome Felton, depart in free agency. Felton signed in Buffalo for $3.6MM in guarantees, and the Vikings gave kicker Blair Walsh slightly more ($3.7MM guaranteed). Both decisions could prove to haunt the team, opines Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Walsh’s accuracy has dropped precipitously every year of his career, from 92.1 percent to 86.7 to 74.3 last year, and he missed one of his two kicks Monday.
With Johnny Manziel set to make his third career start, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal checked off what the second-year man will need to do against Tennessee in order to show the Browns he’s ready for a bigger role. Manziel’s tenure in the pros has been disastrous thus far, so a solid Sunday showing would obviously be a welcome change for him and the Browns.
The Bears had the second-most turnovers during the preseason, but most of the plays were made by defenders who are no longer filling prominent roles now that the regular season has begun. That’s a problem, writes the Chicago Sun-Times’ Adam Jahns, who wonders where the Bears’ defensive playmakers are. They have several well-paid defenders and former high-round draft picks, but they were quiet during the exhibition season and in the team’s Week 1 loss to Green Bay. Head coach John Fox is hoping for better things against Arizona in Week 2. “You get 16 opportunities, and we’re into our second one,’’ Fox said. ‘‘I look for improvement.’’

NFC Notes: JPP, Giants, Vikings, Cardinals

September 16th, 2015 at 4:42pm CST by Zachary Links

A report on Tuesday indicated that Jason Pierre-Paul‘s hand is in worse shape than the Giants expected, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links) has some encouraging news on that front. The defensive end is in fact missing a piece from his thumb, but a source says that it’s far above the joint and just the tip of the digit. Pierre-Paul also has no more surgeries after last week’s skin graft and it’s all about healing at this stage.

Here’s more on JPP, along with a few more NFC notes:

Pierre-Paul took to Instagram with a video of him training and vowed that he would soon join the Giants on the field, as Avery Stone of USA Today writes. “God can turn any situation around for the better,” the defensive end wrote. “Your hard times will lead to the best times of your life. Don’t believe the hype … Be back soon! #90PC #ImAFighter #PutMeInCoach.”
Eli Manning‘s new contract with the Giants includes $5MM roster bonuses in both 2018 and 2019, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News tweets.
When asked if he would bring in another kicker to compete with Blair Walsh, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said, “No. I’m bringing in consideration for him to pull out of this thing and start kicking like he’s capable of kicking,” according to Chris Miller of the Star Tribune. Walsh missed a 44-yard field goal on the team’s opening drive against the 49ers and went just 5-11 in preseason. Last year, he posted a league-worst 74.3% mark.
The Cardinals are not interested in adding a veteran running back because they’re confident that Andre Ellington‘s injury is a short-term issue, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians has no hard feelings about being passed over for the Bears‘ head coaching job, John Mullin of CSNChicago.com writes. Arians was a finalist for the gig after Lovie Smith was fired in 2013. Ultimately, the team hired Marc Trestman, who has since been replaced.
The Bears‘ release of linebacker Sam Acho over the weekend was one of example of how teams sometimes get around the 53-man roster limits, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

King’s Latest: Broncos, Rams, Walsh, Dareus

August 24th, 2015 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

As a former quarterback himself, Broncos general manager John Elway admits that it wasn’t easy asking Peyton Manning to take a $4MM pay cut this offseason, money which Manning could make up in incentives. Elway tells Peter King of TheMMQB.com that it was a “really hard” conversation to have.

“A lot of times, as much as you like to say you want those things to stay business, they always end up being a little personal,” Elway said. “That’s the hard part, because I have a great deal of respect for Peyton. I think, hopefully, Peyton will be able to look back in a few years, especially if we have a really good year, and see that, ultimately, the decision was made to give us the best chance to go out and win a Super Bowl this year. That, ultimately, is the best thing for Peyton Manning—even though, of course, it was $4MM.”

Here are a few more items of note from King’s latest Monday Morning Quarterback feature:

With three starters on the offensive line who have never played a regular season snap, the Broncos will likely move a late-round pick for an offensive lineman, or claim a player – likely a guard – off waivers in the near future, says King.
One team owner who spoke to King believes that Stan Kroenke‘s plan for a new NFL Network facility and multi-purpose theater in Inglewood could be a big factor in the league’s decision on the Los Angeles market. King adds that he views the Inglewood stadium plan, along with the Rams, as the NFL’s preferred route to L.A., though that’s far from a sure thing at this point.
While the Vikings are “trying not to show their concern” with recently extended kicker Blair Walsh, the situation is worth keeping an eye on after Walsh missed five kicks in the team’s two preseason games, writes King. When I examined Walsh as an extension candidate back in May, I suggested the team may want to see how he responds to the longer extra point this year before extending him, but Minnesota locked him up to a new deal last month.
Responding to reports that Marcell Dareus didn’t accept an alleged six-year, $90MM extension offer, King suggests that the Bills defensive tackle is “misreading the market.” In King’s view, Dareus has a case for a rich contract, but not one that exceeds J.J. Watt‘s deal.

NFC Notes: 49ers, Walsh, Vikings, Lions

August 23rd, 2015 at 7:18pm CST by Ben Levine

Despite suffering three concussions during his two years in the league, 49ers safety Eric Reid said he hasn’t thought about retiring. The comments come after former teammate Chris Borland hung up his cleats due to concerns over brain trauma.

“No. Not at all,” Reid told Eric Branch of SFGate.com. “Every guy has to evaluate their decision, whether it’s a concussion, whether it’s an ankle sprain, a torn ACL. With any injury, you have to evaluate yourself and make a personal decision.”

Let’s check out some more notes from the NFC…

49ers nose tackle Mike Purcell is set to play a bigger role this season, and Branch notes that the former undrafted rookie is going to have to adjust to the spotlight. “I just want to stay humble and keep working,” said the 24-year-old. “My goal right now is to show I can do it back-to-back.”
Vikings kicker Blair Walsh missed three field goals during last night’s game, and Matt Vessel of the Star Tribune says the team should definitely be concerned about the position. Walsh inked a four-year extension with Minnesota in July.
Even with the emergence of Vikings rookie receiver Stefon Diggs, Vessel believes Marcus Sherels‘ roster spot is still secure. The writer cites the player’s production on both the kick and punt return units.
Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn could very well be a backup for the Vikings, notes Vessel. However, even with the veteran’s $3.45M salary, the writer believes the team should retain their depth.
Jermelle Cudjo has been a revelation during Lions camp, and ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein says the player is ready for an opportunity. “I’m just hungry, you know,” Cudjo said. “Sitting out last year, having a chip on my shoulder and I just want to come out here and blessed with the opportunity to showcase my skill.”