Three weeks after they traded a fifth-round pick for him, Minnesota Vikings decided to place kicker Kaare Vedvik on waivers. And while Vikings lost confidence in Vedvik quickly, it turns out other teams are still interested in the 25-year-old Norwegian.
New York Jets jumped on the opportunity and claimed Vedvik off waivers on Sunday while parting ways with Taylor Bertolet in a corresponding move.
Vedvik was good on 12 out of 13 field goals in the preseason for Baltimore Ravens, which made him a highly-sought-after player among kicker-needy teams. Vikings ended up making the best offer, paying a steep price of a fifth-rounder, which is a rare occurrence when a kicker is involved.
As soon as he arrived in Minnesota, Vedvik strangely lost his touch. He made just one field goal from 27 yards in two games, while missing three, including one from 37 yards. This made the Vikings reconsider their kicker position, and they ended up giving the job to veteran Dan Bailey.
It seems, however, that the Jets are not concerned about Kaare Vedvik’s struggles. They were interested in him even before he was traded to Vikings and they believe he will turn out to be a long-term solution on the kicker position.
Jets previously signed former Carolina Panthers’ kicker Chandler Catanzaro to be their starter, but the 28-year-old abruptly retired after struggling in the preseason. Bertolet, on the other hand, was also inconsistent, missing two extra-point attempts and making five out of eight attempted FGs.
