Will Reichard – Syndication Server

Two Vikings rookies mentioned by The Athletic’s All-Rookie team

The Athletic recognized the work of General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Wednesday.

The 2024 NFL Draft has proven to have a larger impact than many expected following the injury to J.J. McCarthy. Despite losing their first-round quarterback, the draft class has produced several reliable players for the team.

The Athletic recognized the work of General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Wednesday.

Dane Brugler wrote up his selection for his midseason All-Rookie team, and two Vikings made the cut: first-round pick Dallas Turner and sixth-round pick Will Reichard. Turner has started to play more in recent weeks, including in Week 9 against the Colts. Reichard, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the more reliable kickers in the NFL.

Reichard did not miss a kick all season until Week 9, though his misses against the Colts could be blamed on a quad injury he suffered.

Turner had been struggling to find playing time with the depth the Vikings have at edge rusher, but he may finally be earning the coaching staff’s trust.

Vikings sign kicker John Parker Romo as Will Reichard heads to IR

After announcing on Tuesday that kicker Will Reichard would head to IR, the team announced the signing of kicker John Parker Romo.

The Minnesota Vikings ended their two-game losing streak on Sunday Night Football last week against the Indianapolis Colts, but the win didn’t come without a cost — particularly to the Vikings’ special teams unit.

During the game, the Vikings lost most of their kicking group, as both long snapper Andrew DePaola and kicker Will Reichard suffered significant injuries. The team announced on Tuesday that both players would be headed to injured reserve.

DePaola suffered a hand injury while Reichard strained his right quad during the game. With Reichard heading to injured reserve and the team not having another kicker on the roster, it was inevitable that Minnesota would sign someone. Tuesday afternoon, we learned that someone is John Parker Romo.

Romo’s interesting and winding-kicking journey dates back to his collegiate days. He started his college career with the Central Arkansas Bears, serving as their kickoff specialist and only attempting one field goal on the season, a miss.

After one year at Central Arkansas, Romo transferred to Tulsa. Per NCAA rules (which have since changed), Romo sat out the 2017 season and joined the Tulsa football team as a walk-on for 2018. Romo would once again serve primarily as a kickoff specialist, attempting only five field goals and making just two of them.

After his sophomore season at Tulsa, Romo once again transferred, this time to Virginia Tech, where he spent three seasons. Romo finally became a full-time kicker for the Hokies in his final season, 2021, where he went 34-for-34 on extra point attempts and 18-for-22 on field goals.

Romo was undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft and signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent. He spent the 2022 season on the Saints’ practice squad, never seeing a regular-season game.

In the spring of 2023, Romo would find himself in the XFL with the San Antonio Brahmas, where he would play in all 10 of their games and make 17 of his 19 field goal attempts. That stint in the XFL earned Romo a tryout with the Detroit Lions. After the tryout, Romo signed with Detroit but was released before the season started.

From there, Romo would land on the Chicago Bears’ practice squad for September before being waived in early October. Now, Romo has landed in Minnesota, where he will finally make his regular-season debut in the league.

It’s been a long road for the journeyman kicker, but he now finds himself on a team that, at least for now, seems destined to make a playoff run. How long Romo will remain the Vikings’ kicker remains to be seen, as we still don’t know the full extent of the Reichard injury, but if Romo can capitalize on his chance, it will make for one heck of a story.

Kevin O’Connell shares details on significant Vikings injuries following win over Colts

The Minnesota Vikings have remained relatively healthy through the first eight weeks of the NFL season, but Week 9 changed things.

The Minnesota Vikings have remained relatively healthy through the first eight weeks of the NFL season, but Week 9 changed things. The defense had been missing Blake Cashman in their run-defense game, but now the special teams have taken a hit.

Kicker Will Reichard and long snapper Andrew DePaola suffered injuries in Week 9 against the Colts.

Coach Kevin O’Connell updated the media regarding Reichard’s leg injury, stating that the team is “still in the process of evaluating.” Long snapper DePaola suffered a hand injury that will require surgery, and the team is discussing whether to place him on short-term injured reserve.

O’Connell did hint that they may need to work out kickers this week if Reichard misses any time. Reichard was perfect on the season kicking field goals and extre points but he missed his first two kicks on Sunday night against the Colts.

Once more information is shared on their injuries, we will be sure to pass those along.

Vikings kicker Will Reichard finally missed a kick: Here’s what it means

Rookie kicker Will Reichard missed his first kick on Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts, meaning he’ll finally get a haircut.

Not much went right for the Minnesota Vikings in the first half of their Sunday Night Football game against the Indianapolis Colts. The interior offensive line has been getting blown up all game, leading to a ton of pressure on quarterback Sam Darnold.

Darnold has not handled that pressure well, getting sacked three times in the first half, and getting pressured several more times. One of those sacks resulted in a fumble and a scoop-and-score for the Colts defense. Darnold also threw an interception early to compound the issues the Vikings are having early.

One consistent for the Vikings this season has been rookie kicker Will Reichard. Reichard was perfect on the season coming into the game, making his first 14 field goals of the season, including four kicks of 50+ yards. Reichard was also perfect on his extra points on the season, making his first 20 in a row.

Unfortunately for the Vikings, their fans, and Reichard’s hair, “was” is the operative term in that last paragraph. Reichard missed his first field goal of the season Sunday night against the Colts, missing a 53-yard kick in the second quarter and bringing his streak to an end.

Reichard’s special teams coach, Matt Daniels, mentioned earlier this season that Reichard was not cutting his hair until he missed a kick. That means Reichard is going to have a new look when he shows up to practice next week.

To make matters worse for the rookie kicker, Reichard missed a second kick to close out the first half, this one from considerably closer, as he doinked a 31-yard field goal off the upright. Missing multiple kicks in a game is not something Reichard is used to, as he only had three games at Alabama with multiple missed kicks in his five seasons in Tuscaloosa.

If it can go wrong for the Vikings, it has in the first half.

Vikings’ rookie kicker Will Reichard continues work towards historic season

The Vikings rookie kicker booms a long one against the Lions and continues his way through a historic rookie season.

Following a 34-yard touchdown run from Aaron Jones on the first possession for the Vikings, Minnesota held the Lions to another punt and the Vikings were able to get more points on the board. Rookie kicker Will Reichard remained perfect on the season after he nailed a 57-yard field goal to get the Vikings up 10-0.

It was the third-longest field goal in Vikings history, and Reichard’s fourth 50-yard make of the season.

The best rookie season for a kicker is 157 points by Brandon Aubrey last season for Dallas. Coming into Sunday’s game against the Lions, Reichard was trending for 146, which would be the third-most all-time by a rookie. Blair Walsh has the Vikings rookie record of 141.

Reichard appears to be what Minnesota needed as a placekicker as a rookie. The Vikings have had bad luck with their kickers in recent years, but they’ve finally nailed a pick.

Will Reichard is one of three kickers who are perfect through Week 6

The Minnesota rookie kicker is one of three kickers who are perfect through six weeks.

Kicker has been a dicey word for Vikings fans for a while. Whenever it appears Minnesota should have a decent kicking game — it goes way downhill. But it finally does appear that the Vikings have a kicker and should have him for a very long time.

Rookie Will Reichard is one of three kickers who are perfect through six weeks. He joins Cardinals’ Matt Prater and Titans’ Nick Folk, who haven’t missed either a field goal or an extra point.

Reichard has connected on all 16 extra points and is 9-for-9 on field goals for the Vikings, who are at 5-0. His longest field goal so far has been from 58 yards out.

The Vikings took a chance on Reichard with a sixth-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. But it was for good reason. As mentioned before, Minnesota has had bad luck with its kickers. Reichard is the NCAA’s career points leader with 547 points, thanks to 84 field goals and 295 extra points.

Four Vikings make PFF’s All-Rookie preseason team

They recently published their All-Rookie team selections, and the Minnesota Vikings were heavily represented.

The 2024 NFL preseason has wrapped up, allowing for some reflection now as we are just a week away from the regular season kicking off. Pro Football Focus is one of the many sites and outlets offering some reflection. They recently published their All-Rookie team selections, and the Minnesota Vikings were heavily represented.

Four Vikings made the list for PFF, three of whom were undrafted free agents.

The four players who made the cut were kicker Will Reichard, linebacker Dallas Gant, cornerback Dwight McGlothern, and defensive lineman Taki Taimani. All four proved pivotal to the team’s success during the preseason, and with three of them being UDFAs, this speaks to the front office.

The Vikings drafted kicker Will Reichard, which surprised some people, but for a franchise that has had so much turmoil at the position, the gamble has paid off. As for the other three defensive coordinator Brian Flores has been masterful in using all three dynamically and has maximized their skillset.

We can expect them all to find further success when their season kicks off in 10 days against the Giants.

Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner makes NFL analyst’s All-Preseason team

Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner made NFL analyst Jacob Camenker’s All-Preseason team, with four others earning honorable mention

Preseason football is important for everyone on the roster, to varying degrees. For established veterans, it’s important to get back into the flow of things after an offseason of inactivity. For players fighting for a roster spot, it’s important to get the reps and show coaching staffs – both their own and the 31 other teams’ – that they belong in this league.

For rookies, like Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner, it’s their first chance to see professional action and to show why they were drafted.

While Turner didn’t see much action during this year’s preseason, he made an impression when he was out there. So much so that he’s been named to one NFL analyst’s All-Preseason team. Jacob Camenker of The Sporting News released his First-Team All-Preseason team Monday, and Turner is one of his two choices at EDGE.

Speed was the name of the game for Turner this preseason. He used his athletic ability to beat Saints offensive tackle Andrus Peat in the team’s first game and got a key sack in the red zone. That gave fans and the league just a glimpse of the talent that made the Vikings trade back up into the first round to grab Turner.

If Turner can continue to develop and maintain that speed, he should be a dangerous weapon in a Brian Flores-led defense. Turner only saw 31 snaps this preseason, but it was more than enough to show that his first-round selection was warranted.

Along with Turner, the Vikings earned four honorable mentions on Camenker’s All-Preseason team: Quarterback Jaren Hall, wide receiver Trishton Jackson, defensive tackle Taki Taimani, and kicker Will Reichard all received nods for their summer performances.

Several Vikings among league leaders in various stats from 2024 preseason

With the 2024 NFL preseason over, the Minnesota Vikings had a number of players among the statistical leaders, including QB Jaren Hall.

Preseason football is less about raw stats and more about getting reps in in anticipation of the coming season and looking good while doing it. That said, it’s always nice when those two things coincide. That is the case for several Minnesota Vikings players this year, as the team has several preseason stats leaders.

The plan and hope is that Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold can start all 17 games and play well in doing so. However, Jaren Hall showed during the preseason that he has developed since his brief starting stint last season. In limited action, Hall was among the preseason leaders in passer rating, finishing third overall at 112.5, just behind Jaguars backup Mac Jones and Broncos starter Bo Nix, who led the league at 116.7.

Though he may not have won the battle for WR3 against Jalen Nailor, Vikings wide receiver Trishton Jackson showed he deserves a role in the offense this preseason. A favorite target of anyone taking the snap, Jackson tied for third in receiving yards. But Jackson wasn’t just wracking up yards, he was also putting the ball in the end zone. Jackson led all receivers and tight ends this preseason with three scores.

The final statistical leader for the Vikings was new kicker Will Reichard. The sixth-round pick from Alabama finished his college career as the NCAA’s FBS all-time leading scorer. He picked up right where he left off, coming in second this preseason with 29 points, just two behind leader Cairo Santos. Reichard also booted a 57-yard field goal this preseason to show off his range.