Vikings special teams coach Matt Daniels said Tuesday that the competition between veteran kicker Greg Joseph and undrafted rookie Jack Podlesny remains open with no specific deadline on a final decision.
Vikings kickers battle between Greg Joseph, Jack Podlesny still in play as preseason games start Thursday
Greg Joseph is expected to receive "a good brunt of the work" in the Vikings' first preseason game at Seattle, but rookie free agent Jack Podlesny will also be involved.
August 9, 2023 at 12:32PM
"In football, things always work themselves out," Daniels said. "So we'll just keep keep going."
Joseph is expected to receive "a good brunt of the work" in the Vikings' first preseason game at Seattle on Thursday (9 p.m., Ch. 9), according to Daniels, who added that Podlesny will also be involved.
Podlesny, who was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Year last season as the placekicker for the national champion Georgia Bulldogs, would likely have been released already if Daniels wasn't seriously considering him.
"It'll be Jack's first time going out, kicking in an NFL stadium out west in Seattle," Daniels said. "We'll see how he responds to the elements, to the crowd, to the noise."
Daniels dealt with a similar situation last preseason, between then-returning punter Jordan Berry and undrafted free agent Ryan Wright. Rather surprisingly, Wright won the roster spot with Berry being released late in August 2022.
That same camp featured Joseph as the Vikings' only kicker, before a campaign in which he made 27 of 34 field goals — including five game-winners.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
