Tag: Jordan Berry

Eagles to sign punter Brett Kern to replace injured Arryn Siposs

With Arryn Siposs out indefinitely with a lower leg injury, the Philadelphia Eagles are signing veteran punter and former Pro Bowl Brett Kern

The Eagles suffered a critical injury at the punter position and the team already has a replacement at the NovaCare Complex on a visit.

After Arryn Siposs was ruled out indefinitely with a lower leg injury, the team signed former Pro Bowl punter, Brett Kern.

Formerly with the Titans, Kern lost a preseason battle with rookie Ryan Stonehouse, leading to his release.

Kern spent 13 seasons with Tennessee, appearing in 197 games and setting several franchise records in career punts (923), gross punting average (45.9 yards), net punting average (40.8 yards), and punts downed inside the 20 (373).

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Eagles hosting punter Brett Kern on a visit with Arryn Siposs ruled out indefinitely

The Philadelphia Eagles have a need at the punter position and free agent Brett Kern is visiting the team ahead of the Week 15 matchup against the Bears

The Eagles suffered a critical injury at the punter position and the team reportedly already has a potential replacement at the NovaCare Complex on a visit.

After Arryn Siposs was ruled out indefinitely with a lower leg injury, Tom Pelissero is reporting that Brett Kern is visiting the team.

Formerly with the Titans, Kern lost a preseason battle with rookie Ryan Stonehouse, leading to his release.

Kern spent 13 seasons with Tennessee, appearing in 197 games and setting several franchise records in career punts (923), gross punting average (45.9 yards), net punting average (40.8 yards), and punts downed inside the 20 (373).

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5 punters the Eagles could target after Arryn Siposs suffered leg injury against Giants

We’re looking at five punters that the Philadelphia Eagles could have an interest in adding to the roster after Arryn Siposs suffered a lower leg injury against the Giants

The Eagles don’t have many weaknesses, but Punter Arryn Siposs has been a player to watch all season, and things could be heating up.

Siposs suffered a lower leg injury after trying to advance a blocked punt on Sunday and he’ll be out for an indefinite amount of time.

Here are five punters Philadelphia could have in for a tryout ahead of Sunday’s matchup at Chicago.

Vikings pick their punter

The punt off is over before it started

After an announced punt off during this Saturday’s game against the Denver Broncos, the Minnesota Vikings made their decision two full days before the game was set to begin.

The Vikings chose to release punter Jordan Berry in favor of Tulane rookie Ryan Wright.

Wright had himself a really good performance against the San Francisco 49ers with a 47.5 average yards per punt, a full 2.8 yards better than Berry.

After spending six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Vikings signed Berry to be the punter for the 2021 season. He averaged 46.5 yards per punt over 78 total punts.

Being that Berry was on a veteran minimum deal, the Vikings will save $188,334 in cap space.

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Vikings players currently slated for free agency in 2023

Multiple key starters are set to become unrestricted free agents in 2023

The Minnesota Vikings are juggling multiple one-year contracts in an effort to potentially compete for a Super Bowl in 2022. They’ve essentially kicked the can on future headaches in hopes of reaping a present-day reward.

But out of sight doesn’t necessarily mean out of mind.

This is the time of the year where general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will start to fade more into the background making roster adjustments with both the present and future in mind. The Vikings are going to have some seriously tough decisions ahead that includes multiple starters.

Keep in mind, they’ll have to work within the confines of potentially extending Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson to massive deals at some point, assuming they plan on going in that direction.

In his first year as general manager, Adofo-Mensah managed to keep the core of the team intact for the most part. But that certainly won’t be the case after this season.

Here are the current contracts set to expire in 2023.

Jordan Berry knows his spot on roster is far from guaranteed

Berry will have to fight for his job in 2022

Jordan Berry will have a new number and new competition when entering the 2022 season as the presumed starting punter for the Minnesota Vikings.

However, the veteran special-teamer knows better. He has been around long enough to figure out that nothing is ever guaranteed in the NFL. The line between a starting punter and an unsigned free agent is very thin.

It doesn’t help matters that he’s 31 years old and right in the middle of a regime shift. Throw in the fact that the Vikings just signed rookie free agent Ryan Wright to a deal and things are sure to get interesting throughout training camp.

“You’ve got new coaches and they didn’t really know me, so that’s obviously going to be part of it,” said Berry, when speaking with the Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson. “But the other part is I probably wasn’t the most consistent compared to what I want to be.

“I had like a decent year, but there’s definitely room to improve always and obviously once you get in the 30s, you could start slacking off, too. Some guys drop off pretty quick when they get older, so they’ve got to cover their bases. But I’m feeling pretty confident in myself.”

Assuming Berry ends up with the job, a brand new No. 16 jersey is awaiting him after he gave up No. 3 to Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler, who was looking to return to his college roots at Mississippi State.

But the competition will be stiff.

Wright averaged 47.5 yards per punt at Tulane last season, while Berry averaged 46.5 yards with the Vikings. Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels has made it abundantly clear that this is a legitimate competition.

And the same goes for veteran kicker Greg Joseph and incoming rookie Gabe Brkic. These aren’t just camp bodies to fill up space on the roster. Like Joseph, Berry’s contract could be in jeopardy if he gets beat out on the practice field by his younger counterpart.

But experience also matters in these competitions, and there is a wide gap when it comes to punting at the highest level. Berry will lean on that edge in hopes of carving out a spot of his own on the new-look Vikings’ roster.

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Highlights and notes from Week 2 Vikings OTAs

Another week in the books for the Vikings

Another week is in the books for the Minnesota Vikings’ organized team activities.

Last week was all about integrating the rookies and veterans on the field together in helmets and shorts. This week consisted of more drills and an attempt towards putting a pretty bow on everything by seeing new concepts in action.

You still have to be careful to not overreact to some of the things emanating out of OTAs since it’s still so early in the process. We’ll have a real sense of where players are at once they’ve actually had time to digest things and the pads come on.

But the buzz in Minnesota right now is undeniable. There’s a different level of excitement surrounding this Vikings team—and for good reason. The hope is that big things are ahead under the guidance of head coach Kevin O’Connell, who knows what it takes to win a Super Bowl. And it all begins with preparation.

Here are some highlights and notes from Week 2 of OTAs.

Vikings re-signing punter Jordan Berry

The Vikings are keeping their punter

The Minnesota Vikings have one less headache with news of the return of punter Jordan Berry on Wednesday.

After spending one year with the team, the 30-year-old veteran has re-signed with the Vikings on a one-year deal, per Pro Football Focus’ Ari Meirov.

Berry spent the previous six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers before losing his starting job and signing a one-year, $990,000 deal with Minnesota last September.

He punted 78 times in the 2021 season with an average of 46.5 yards per punt, which was a career-best for him. The Vikings are hopeful not to be in a position where they’ll have to punt often, but it always pays off to have a strong kicker capable of pinning opponents deep.

There are still a lot of holes left to fill on the team as we inch closer to the official start of free agency. So consider this move to keep Berry the calm before the storm.

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Chargers hire Ryan Ficken as special teams coordinator

The Chargers have a new special teams coordinator.

After allowing time for the dust of the 2021 season to settle, it became clear that the Chargers needed help in the special teams department. Fast.

Los Angeles announced Thursday that Ryan Ficken will join the staff as the team’s new special teams coordinator. The hiring was initially reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Ficken replaces Derius Swinton II after just a single season.

Ficken has spent the last eight years as an assistant special teams coach with the Minnesota Vikings. Ficken also served on the Vikings staff as wide receivers and running backs coach from 2007-12. He was a graduate assistant at UCLA before starting his career coaching professional football.

Pelissero also mentioned the Vikings originally blocked Ficken from interviewing, but persistence from the Chargers resulted in him being allowed to pursue the opportunity.

On the offensive side of the ball, things were sound. Kick returner Andre Roberts ranked first in the league with a 32.8-yard return average. Placekicker Dustin Hopkins made 18 of 20 field goals and 30 of 32 extra points after he was picked up by the team in Week 8. 

However, Los Angeles ranked last in net punting last season. Starter Ty Long averaged 36.8 yards per boot on 47 attempts, pinning just 11 inside the 20-yard line. 

Under Ficken’s oversight on the Vikings, kicker Greg Joseph led the NFC and ranked fifth in the league with 33 made field goals. Punter Jordan Berry finished the season 13th in net punt average. Minnesota churned out a second-place finish in kick return average and scored twice on kickoffs.

Based on how highly the Chargers viewed Ficken and their efforts to draw him away from the Vikings, expect him to stabilize a unit that was wildly inconsistent and turn it into an asset. 

Three pleasant surprises on the Vikings so far

Here are some Vikings players who have surprised so far:

For Vikings fans, it can be hard to find a lot of silver linings in the 2021 season.

The Vikings’ retooled defense has looked inconsistent. Minnesota was upset by Cincinnati in Week 1. In Week 2, the Vikings lost at the end of the game due to a missed field goal.

However, Minnesota has been close in both of those games. Does that mean the team will turn things around? Not necessarily, but it does mean there is hope.

Here are three pleasant surprises on the Vikings: