The Vikings added kicker Taylor Bertolet to their practice squad Saturday, giving themselves an option in case Dan Bailey's two weeks of struggles stretch into a third game.
The team could activate Bertolet from its practice squad up until 90 minutes before kickoff Sunday, though the Texas A&M product's first chance to enter the Vikings' practice facility would have come Saturday after five days of COVID-19 testing. Bailey is expected to kick against the Bears on Sunday after he missed three field goals and an extra point against the Buccaneers.
"It's like I told the team the other day: There's not one guy on our football team that hasn't had a bad day," Zimmer said Thursday. "That's just part of life, whether it's me coaching them or them playing or him kicking. … We're not going to dwell on it. Everybody else is, but we're not."
The Vikings released practice-squad kicker Tristan Vizcaino on Monday, and they worked out Bertolet and Chandler Catanzaro this week. Bertolet has been on the rosters of four teams but hasn't attempted a kick in an NFL game. His last game action came for the Salt Lake Stallions in the short-lived Alliance of American Football in 2019.
Ben Goessling
