Reliable kickers have been tough to come by in Minnesota in recent seasons and the man who will be charged with leading the effort to find the right person to end that streak met with the media on Thursday.
The Vikings hired Marwan Maalouf as their special teams coordinator this offseason and the topic of kicking woes came up during his first media session.
After dealing with Blair Walsh’s missed field goals and Kai Forbath’s missed extra points, the Vikings drafted Daniel Carlson in the fifth round last year and then cut him after he missed three field goals in Week Two. Dan Bailey was signed, but his 21-of-28 record on field goals hasn’t guaranteed him a return engagement in 2019.
“As of right now, all things are on the table,” Maalouf said, via the Pioneer Press. “We are starting to look at [draft-eligible] kickers and free agent kickers. That’s something that I’ve had good luck with in the past. We have always had good kickers where I’ve been.”
Maalouf said that he’s learned from working with kickers like Adam Vinatieri and Phil Dawson at past stops that he wants “football players who happen to kick.” The Vikings would settle for anyone who happens to put the ball through the uprights on a regular basis.