The Vikings special teams shakeup extends beyond the trade for kicker Kaare Vedvik.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the team will release long snapper Kevin McDermott. The Vikings drafted long snapper Austin Cutting in the seventh round this year and he received clearance to play while serving his Air Force commitment in July.
McDermott has been the long snapper in Minnesota since 2015. The move saves $760,000 in cap space.
The move came after head coach Mike Zimmer discussed issues associated with having two long snappers in camp earlier in the day.
“Honestly, I really like Dan Bailey,” Zimmer said, via the Pioneer Press. “I think he’s a very professional, mature kid. We’ve been having some issues with the snap, hold, kick kind of thing. Having two long snappers has added to that a little bit because the timing is a bit different. The holding we’re working on quite a bit.”
Zimmer wouldn’t discuss the Vedvik trade because it was not official at that point, but Bailey’s up-and-down camp played into the decision to make the move. Vedvik can also punt the ball, so more changes on special teams are likely to come one way or another.