Following the Week 2 tie against the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings have quickly decided part ways with rookie kicker Daniel Carlson after missing all three of his field goal attempts including the game-winner.
According to Courtney Cronin of ESPN, head coach Mike Zimmer had a brutal response in the reasoning why Carlson was let go just two games into his career.
Zimmer asked why the team released Daniel Carlson
"Did you see the game?"
Was it an easy decision?
"Yep, very easy."
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) September 17, 2018
It is quite a blunt response, but the fact of the matter is that Carlson missed all three of his opportunities that could have helped the Vikings grab the win over the Packers. There was an evident loss of confidence from the 2019 fifth-round pick as he completely missed the potential game-winning 35-yard field goal with four seconds left in overtime. It was a disappointing outing that had a tremendous impact on the Vikings' viewpoint of his future with the team that some huge championship aspirations behind their talented roster.
The Vikings didn't waste any time with the addition of former Dallas Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey, who has cut by the team just prior to the start of the 2018 season. In his first seven years of his career with the Cowboys, he put together some impressive campaigns as one of the most accurate kickers in the league. However, he had struggled with injuries late last season as it impacted his play on the field missing five out of 12 field goal attempts in the last month that pushed him below 84 percent in his career.
When healthy, Bailey has proven to be one of the league's best kickers that second-most accurate kicker in league history at 88.2 percent and the franchise leader in made field goals for the Cowboys. The hope is that he can provide stability in the kicking that could be crucial in fueling their championship hopes this season.
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