Tag: Britton Colquitt

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer talks about the signing of punter Jordan Berry

“He’s got a big leg,” Mike Zimmer said. “He’s done it for a while, just trying to get a little bit more hang time and distance.”

The Vikings have had Britton Colquitt as the team’s starting punter for the past two seasons and all of this preseason, but Minnesota still opted for change.

The Vikings released Colquitt and signed Jordan Berry, a punter who has been with the Steelers for six seasons. Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer talked about the switch at punter recently:

“He’s got a big leg. He’s done it for a while, just trying to get a little bit more hang time and distance.”

This past season, Berry had a net average of 45.77, which ranked him 16th in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Berry also had 25 punts pinned inside the 20-yard line, which ranked tied for 11th in the league.

Colquitt had a net average of 45.09 this past season for the Vikings, per PFF. That ranked him 21st in the league. He had just 12 punts pinned inside the 20. Overall, Colquitt did not live up to his contract in 2020.

Colquitt did a nice job of bouncing back after a rough game in the preseason opener. Though that may have not earned him back his roster spot, he could still land with another team in 2021. Maybe the Vikings sign him to the practice squad if not.

Vikings expected to sign former Steelers punter Jordan Berry

The moves keep coming and they don’t stop coming.

Minnesota made a surprise move when it cut Britton Colquitt on Wednesday.

Then on Thursday, it seemed like Colquitt would be returning to the team, but now that appears to not be the case.

The Vikings are expected to sign former Steelers punter Jordan Berry, as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The team cannot officially make the move until late this afternoon.

Berry had a net average of 45.77 in 2020, which ranked him 16th in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Berry also had 25 punts pinned inside the 20-yard line, a mark that ranked him tied for 11th in the league.

Colquitt had a net average of 45.09 this past season for the Vikings, per PFF. That ranked him 21st in the league. He had just 12 punts pinned inside the 20.

So if last season was any indication, the Vikings are upgrading at punter. Colquitt struggled against the Broncos in the preseason opener, and Mike Zimmer called his performance “cause for concern.”

However, Colquitt went on to have pretty good games against the Colts and the Chiefs, so maybe another team will sign him and make him a starter in 2021.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer calls Britton Colquitt’s day a ’cause for concern’

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said punter Britton Colquitt’s day was cause for concern.

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Vikings P Britton Colquitt had four punts against the Broncos, the longest of which was just 48 yards. His average was 40.5.

For Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer, that wasn’t good enough. Asked whether Colquitt’s day was a cause for concern or just a bad day, Zimmer said “it’s cause for concern.”

Colquitt is coming off a year where he had a 45.1 net average. This offseason, the Vikings restructured with Colquitt, and he could still be due for a resurgent season, but according to Zimmer, this performance wasn’t just a bad day.

Also this offseason: Minnesota brought in punter Zach Von Rosenberg to compete with Colquitt for the starting punter job. The Vikings ended up waiving Von Rosenberg to make room for Sheldon Richardson, but it’s not out of the question for the team to bring in another punter who could vie for that spot with Colquitt.

Four Vikings on offense and special teams who need to bounce back in 2021

Here are four Vikings players who need to bounce back in 2021.

The Vikings don’t have many bounce-back candidates on offense. That’s because the team’s offense was so good in 2020.

Really, the group just has to stay healthy for 2021, and surely they will be at least decent. The special teams, on the other hand, were horrendous.

The Vikings struggled in pretty much every aspect of special teams in 2020. They gave up blocked punts, they had fumbles on returns, they had costly missed field goals. You name it, the Vikings did it wrong on special teams at times.

This offseason, Minnesota did not renew the contract of special teams coordinator Marwan Maalouf. The new special teams coordinator, Ryan Ficken, has a lot of work to do.

Here are some possible bounce-back candidates on special teams and offense:

Vikings’ question marks heading into training camp

The Minnesota Vikings still have some question marks. Here they are:

Minnesota is a team with a high variance for the 2021 NFL season.

The Vikings have plenty of talent on paper. But due to all the free agency signings this offseason, many of those players have yet to be on the same team in an NFL game.

For Minnesota, cohesiveness, health and luck will be key. The Vikings have the potential to deploy one of the best defenses in the NFL this season. The team also has an already-explosive offense from 2020; that group just needs to not suffer any regression.

The Vikings’ 2021 NFL season could really go either way, depending on a few factors. Here are some question marks still remaining on the team with training camp fast approaching.

Vikings restructure with punter Britton Colquitt

The Minnesota Vikings have restructured with punter Britton Colquitt, another cost-saving measure for the 2021 NFL salary cap.

The Vikings went with continuity on special teams this past season. Kicker Dan Bailey, long snapper Austin Cutting and punter/holder Britton Colquitt all stayed with the team.

Cutting was waived during the season. The team released Bailey this week. Colquitt, the last player of the three still on the roster, appears to be coming back, at least.

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said on KFAN that the team restructured with Colquitt (H/T Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune). The move marks yet another cap-saving measure for the team this offseason.

Colquitt will be playing for the veteran minimum of $1.075 million, saving Minnesota almost $1.3 million in cap space for 2021, per Goessling. With that decision, the Vikings will have around $10 million in 2021 cap space. They’ve come a long way from when this season’s base cap was first announced. 

Besides Bailey, the Vikings have released key contributors like TE Kyle Rudolph and LT Riley Reiff after the season was over. Now, Minnesota is the only team in the NFC North that has positive cap space, according to Over The Cap.

Four Vikings who could be cap casualties before free agency

Here are four Minnesota Vikings players who could be cut in an attempt to get under the 2021 salary cap.

The free agency window officially opens up on March 17. As of now, the Vikings aren’t in a great place to make any more moves.

Minnesota has agreed to terms with DE Stephen Weatherly already. However, the team appears to be over the salary cap floor. If the $180 million floor ends up being the salary cap, Minnesota will have to make some tough decisions to free up space.

Here are some of the decisions the team could make before it signs more players. Now, I don’t agree with all of these, but they are all possibilities at the moment. Here is the full list:

VFLs in the NFL: Week 17 recap

These VFLs were in action in the NFL’s regular season finale.

The NFL regular season has concluded and playoff matchups are set.

A few former Tennessee players were inactive Sunday, including Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett and Saints running back Alvin Kamara.

Several others played, and in some cases, closed out their 2020 campaigns.

The following is a recap of how every VFL performed in their regular season finale.

VFLs in the NFL: Week 13 recap

These former Tennessee standouts were in action over the NFL weekend.

Week 13 of the National Football League is complete.

Week 13 showcased games taken place on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday due to schedule adjustments with COVID-19 protocols.

Several former Vols were in action for their respective teams. Below is a recap of every VFL that registered a statistic in Week 13 of the NFL.

Tennessee football encourages Pro Bowl votes for VFLs

Which of these VFLs do you believe is worthy of the 2020 Pro Bowl?

As the 2020 NFL season moves along, the best players in the league are establishing themselves as candidates for the 2020 Pro Bowl.

Several VFLs have found success this season, and Tennessee football’s official Twitter account is encouraging Vol fans to vote for these players to be selected to the Pro Bowl.

Saints running back Alvin Kamara, Bears specialist Cordarrelle Patterson, Texans offensive lineman Zach Fulton, Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett, 49ers defensive back Emmanuel Moseley, Ravens long snapper Morgan Cox and Vikings punter Britton Colquitt are the names mentioned.

Kamara is having one of the best seasons of his career with the Saints, while Patterson recently tied the NFL record for career kickoffs returned for touchdowns.

Kamara, Patterson and Cox have all been selected to the Pro Bowl at least once in their NFL careers. For the rest of the players mentioned, it would be their first career appearance.

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