In 2022 Greg Joseph had a rollercoaster of a season. At times, Joseph performed at an all-pro level. Other times, Joseph was a disaster kicking both extra points and field goals. The Vikings recently re-signed Joseph to a one-year $2 million deal. Here’s what Vikings fans should expect from Joseph in 2023:
In 2019, Dan Bailey was one of the best kickers in the NFL, and the Vikings rewarded him with a three-year extension. Then, Dan Bailey fell apart in 2020, and was released by the Vikings. The Vikings then signed Greg Joseph from the Buccaneers practice squad, and he became the team’s kicker for the 2021 season. Joseph was very sharp – he was 36 of 40 on extra points, and 86.8% on field goals. He kept his job for 2022, but things were not as good as 2021.
Greg Joseph’s field goal percentage went down to 78.8% in 2022. His extra point percentage was down to 87%. His stats suggest he was a bum kicker in 2022; but interestingly, he was the most clutch kicker in the NFL last year.
Greg Joseph hit multiple game winners in 2022. He hit a late game-winner against the Saints in Week 4, a game in which he also hit five field goals and won NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. He hit a game-winner against the Commanders in Week 9. He hit the game-winner in the wild overtime win against the Bills in Week 10. He hit the game-winner in the historic comeback against the Colts in Week 15. And he delivered arguably the best moment of the season against the Giants in Week 16, where he nailed a franchise record 61-yard field goal to win the game and deliver a Christmas Miracle to the vikings fans. He was also perfect in the heartbreaking playoff loss against the Giants, and deserves no blame for that disaster.
So what do you do with Joseph? A kicker who is unreliable on extra points and even field goals, to an extent; but is also money in clutch situations. My takeaway from this is Joseph does so many things well; a reliable kicker in game winning situations makes all the difference in the world. Just ask the Patriots about Adam Vinatieri.
But I do not think it is fair to let Joseph forget about all the things he does not do well. Joseph’s field goal percentage was down, and he was not reliable on extra points. He was re-signed to a one-year deal, but I think that the Vikings need to bring in a legit threat, and have a kicking competition in camp. This job should not be handed to Greg Joseph.
It is very important for a team to have a kicker, punter and long snapper to build continuity. Ryan Wright and Andrew DePaola are both back next year, so I want the Vikings to keep the same three.
The Vikings are known for having lousy kickers who let them down in the playoffs. I do not feel like that with Greg Joseph. My prediction is that Greg Joseph wins the kicking battle, and keeps the Vikings kicker job. This is a move I am 100% behind; I believe in Greg Joseph as the Vikings kicker.
