The Minnesota Vikings moved quickly to fill the quarterback gap created by Kirk Cousins’ departure to the Atlanta Falcons. Sam Darnold, whom the organization has been interested in since general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was hired in 2022, is the team’s most recent possibility.
Darnold is set to sign a one-year deal with the Vikings, a team source confirmed Tuesday morning. The NFL Network was the first to report the agreement. Minnesota viewed him as a bridge quarterback who might potentially partner with a highly picked rookie.
Greg Joseph joined the Packers after three serviceable but below-average seasons with the Vikings. The Vikings have shown that they can do worse than Joseph, but they can definitely do better.
Greg Joseph was a somewhat below-average kicker during his three seasons with the Vikings. You may recall him making some important kicks, notably during that memorable 2022 season, which should not be overlooked.
However, in his three seasons kicking for the Vikings from 2021 to 2023, Joseph made 82.2% of his field goals and 90.3% of his extra points. The NFL average for kickers during that time period was 85.4% on field goals and 94.6% on extra points. Joseph essentially missed one more field goal and two extra points per year than the average kicker.
That might not seem like much. However, the Vikings (right) did not feel compelled to protect it at any costs.
As a result, they allowed Joseph to enter free agency, and he signed a contract with the rival Packers this week — as I discussed on part one of Wednesday’s Daily Delivery episode.
