Tag: Ryan Wright

Vikings’ Ryan Wright may soon have competition at the punter position

Ryan Wright won the Vikings’ punter competition over Seth Vernon, but his spot on the roster may not be safe according to one beat writer.

The battle at Punter was one of the biggest positional competitions to watch during this training camp. The Minnesota Vikings had two punters, Seth Vernon, and Ryan Wright, battling it out all camp and through most of the preseason to see who would stick around and make the opening-day roster.

Wright won the battle, with the Vikings releasing Vernon last week, but his position on the roster may not be as secure as some might think. According to Alec Lewis, Vikings beat writer for The Athletic, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Vikings “Scour the punter market over the next few days”.

Wright was impressive enough to win the competition over Vernon. Still, he struggled in the Vikings preseason finale, shanking one punt off his foot for just 26 yards, and was anything but solid for the Vikings as their full-time punter last season.

With the NFL’s deadline fast approaching, the Vikings could be looking intently at the waiver wire, seeing which specialists become available and starting the punting competition all over again with a fresh, new face to push Wright.

Vikings special teams leaders are now in place following roster moves

The special teams units of the Minnesota Vikings have found their leaders as we head into the final week of the preseason in 2024.

The special teams units of the Minnesota Vikings have found their leaders as we head into the final week of the preseason in 2024. Training camp started with competitions at both the kicking and punting positions and almost three weeks later we have resolutions to those jobs.

For kicking, rookie Will Reichard earned the job early in camp. Meanwhile, Ryan Wright earned the punting job on Monday after the team released Seth Vernon.

Reichard has been phenomenal in training camp and in both preseason games for the Vikings. They drafted the Crimson Tide kicker after letting Greg Joseph leave in free agency, which seemed puzzling at the time. It shows that perhaps we need to give Kwesi Adofo-Mensah more credit for his decision-making.

With the punting job now decided. Ryan Wright can head into the final preseason game knowing he has the job locked up. He will be a part of the final 53-man roster decision.

Seth Vernon and Ryan Wright poised for battle to earn punting job

It is not often that we see special teams position battles, but in 2024, we are poised for just that between Ryan Wright and Seth Vernon.

It is not often that we see special teams position battles, but in 2024, we are poised for just that. Ryan Wright and Seth Vernon, both punters on the roster, are jockeying for the most undervalued position in football.

Alec Lewis of The Athletic reported that the position battle had taken place recently. In his piece, Lewis hints that tenure does not mean much for the team in terms of making a decision.

“Earlier this spring, the Vikings signed Seth Vernon, a Portland State product who also went undrafted in 2022. Vernon arrived ready, impressed in organized team activities and has launched a full-on competition. Kevin O’Connell’s view might mirror his approach to the offensive line: Best man wins, prior ties be damned.”

No matter the position, hearing that prior ties to the team mean nothing is not only the right thing you want to hear but also refreshing. Kevin O’Connell is entering a pivotal year in his tenure with the Vikings; he can’t afford to have any biases. Putting the best team out there is all that matters at this point. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and himself have done well in building the roster; all that is left is to assemble them.

Even if that calls for position battles at the punter position.

Madden ratings for every Vikings specialist

Madden rankings for the Minnesota Vikings specialists are fine, but not great.

On Monday, the first batch of Madden 24 rankings and the first 99 overall in this year’s game were released.

They are currently releasing two position groups per day and started with wide receivers and safeties. On Tuesday, they released edge rushers and defensive tackles. On Wednesday, they ranked the offensive lineman and the running backs. On Thursday, they started with the tight end and cornerback rankings. On Friday, they started with the quarterbacks and inside linebackers. We finish things off with the specialists.

Vikings 90-man roster player profile: P Ryan Wright

Minnesota Vikings punter Ryan Wright won the job in training camp last year. Can he improve on a solid rookie season?

Welcome to the beginning of our 2023 season preview content!

Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at each player on the roster in-depth with backgrounds and how they currently project forward on the Minnesota Vikings roster.

What is the best-case scenario? What is the worst-case scenario? What should we expect from them during the preseason and beyond? We will break all of that down here.

As a staff, all of us at Vikings Wire ranked the entire 90-man roster 1-90 and will be releasing player profiles in reverse order.

66 days until Vikings season opener: Every player to wear No. 66

With 66 days remaining until the start of the season, we take a look at everyone who’s worn No. 66 for the Vikings.

It’s the final countdown…

Well, sort of.

The Minnesota Vikings will kick off their 2023 regular season in 67 days at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 10.

From now until then, we will take a trip down memory lane and count each day by revisiting the players that have worn that specific jersey number.

The last Viking to wear 66 was punter Ryan Wright and there was a 24-year gap with players who wore the number.

With 66 days until kickoff, here’s a look at every player to wear No. 66 with the Vikings (via Pro Football Reference):

Vikings ranked 16th in the NFL in spending when signing undrafted free agents

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero released a report on Saturday that showed a breakdown of spending by NFL teams for UDFA signings

Every year after the draft, NFL teams can bid for undrafted free agents in a recruitment process that mirrors regular free agency. Generally, teams who assert themselves and offer more guaranteed money have a higher likelihood of signing these players.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero released a report on Saturday. The report indicated that the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) provided agents with a team-by-team spending breakdown of last year’s undrafted free agent class.

The Minnesota Vikings were able to sign nine undrafted free agents last year, spending a total of $609,705. This ranks them 16th in the league in terms of total money spent on these players. Below are the names of the nine undrafted free agents who signed with the Vikings last season.

  • S Mike Brown
  • WR Thomas Hennigan
  • RB Bryant Koback
  • OLB Zach McCloud
  • C Josh Sokol
  • DT Tyarise Stevenson
  • OLD Luiji Vilain
  • P Ryan Wright
  • K Gabe Brkic

Keep in mind that this is just signing bonus money given to undrafted free agents. Teams will offer upwards of $250k to players to get them to sign with their team. If the player gets cut, which happens often, the signing bonus gets accelerated to next year’s salary cap.

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These 50 Vikings players are under contract for 2023

The Vikings currently have 50 players under contract going into the 2023 offseason

Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has a lot of work to do this offseason to get the Vikings roster under the cap and ready to go for the 2023 season.

There is a lot of talk about impending free agents and potential cap casualties for the Vikings this offseason, but not so much about the other players that are under contract.

According to Over The Cap, the Vikings have 50 players currently under contract and sit $23,051,507 over the projected salary cap. Here is all 50 players under contract with the details of their current contracts.

Vikings LS Andrew DePaola among the league’s best

Special teams usually don’t get noticed, and that’s a good thing for long snappers

Most of the publicity for a team goes to the offense, defense or coaching staff. Rarely do special teams get a lot of attention unless they aren’t performing well.

That has happened often this season for the Minnesota Vikings, specifically with kicker Greg Joseph. Despite his five game-winning kicks this season, it’s the misses that have gotten the publicity.

One of the catalysts behind the success of both Joseph and punter Ryan Wright is long snapper Andrew DePaola.

He has been a quality long snapper for the Vikings during his three-year tenure here and it’s reflected in the PFF grades.

DePaola had the second-highest grade for all long snappers in both 2020 and 2021, and his top-graded performance this season was recognized this year with a Pro Bowl berth.

Sometimes, the little things add up and the consistency from DePaola has shown brightly this season.

Vikings worked out USFL veteran punter on Thursday

The Vikings seemed to be using strategy with their latest tryout

The Minnesota Vikings held a surprising tryout on Thursday afternoon by hosting punter Brock Miller per Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson.

Miller is a 31-year-old punter that has only been on an NFL roster for three months when he was with the San Francisco 49ers during the 2017 offseason.

He did punt for the New Jersey Generals this past spring in the USFL and was successful. He averaged 46.3 yards per punt on 31 punts with 10 of them being pinned inside the 20-yard line.

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Rookie punter Ryan Wright has had a successful season through seven games which raises the question why the Vikings would host a punter tryout. Well, the answer is simple. Miller is a left footed punter, and the Vikings will be facing one in Tress Way in Washington.

This is a smart strategy by the Vikings, as the ball spins differently with a left-footed punter. With Jalen Reagor’s issues in fielding punts, this was a wise move.

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