Matt Kalil Hopes To Stay With Vikings
Matt Kalil‘s season ended in September when a hip injury shut him down for the season. The pending free agent didn’t get a chance to show the Vikings what he could do in his contract year, but he still hopes to remain in Minnesota, as Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press writes. 
[RELATED: Vikings OT Jake Long Done For Season]
“I’d love to stay here the rest of my career,” Kalil said. “This is the team I started out with in the NFL, and I’ve been playing with these guys. I’ve met a lot of great friends here, my wife is from here. It’d be a good place to finish my career.”
To re-sign with the Vikings, Kalil will probably have to agree to a pay cut. This year, he is earning $11.096MM for what amounted to a two-game season and it’s hard to see the team agreeing to that kind of guaranteed cash again. A one-year deal with a moderate base and incentives could make sense for the Vikings, but Kalil seemed to bristle at the suggestion that his health could impact his leverage.
“I don’t think so,” Kalil said. “I will have a full recovery. That’s what happens. People get hurt in football.”
Under the new IR rules, Kalil could technically return this season, but he says that is not a realistic possibility as he is still healing from his surgery. Kalil’s hip won’t heal until around Christmas and even then, he’ll be a long way from being in football shape.
The Vikings’ offensive line has been ravaged by injuries this season. Over the weekend, tackle Jake Long suffered a season-ending Achilles injury, forcing the team to start T.J. Clemmings at one tackle spot with Jeremiah Sirles at the other. Clemmings has been among the worst blockers in the NFL this year. And, despite a decent start to the year, Sirles has struggled in recent weeks.
Vikings Haven’t Ruled Out Replacing Blair Walsh
Following another subpar outing from Blair Walsh on Sunday, the Vikings may be in the market for a kicker. According to Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com, coach Mike Zimmer didn’t rule out replacing the slumping kicker. The reporter tweets that the team has yet to make a decision regarding the position, although he notes that the coach is set to meet with general manager Rick Spielman on Monday evening.
“We’re going to see what all the options are,” Zimmer said. “We’re going to see what the options are at kicker and then make a determination and go.”
Walsh, a five-year veteran, missed another extra point during this past weekend’s loss to the Redskins. This came a week after the team worked out six kickers, including Kai Forbath and Randy Bullock. Ultimately, the team decided to stick with Walsh.
“I knew how he would react,” special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer said (via ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling). “It kind of lit a fire under him. He got ticked off in a good way, I think, because he’s a competitive young man. When you bring in guys that are potentially going to take your job, guys that want your job, that’s the way you want him to react. If he didn’t react that way, I would be really worried, and we probably would be looking for another guy. He got — I don’t want to say angry, but he got a little fired up in a very respectful way, just like he always is. I expect him to go out and kick well for us this weekend and the rest of the year.”
The Vikings coaching staff’s patience is undoubtedly wearing thin. Walsh’s struggles began during last season’s Wild Card round, when he missed a field goal that could have given his team the victory. The former Pro Bowler’s struggles have carried over to this season, as Walsh has only connected on 75-percent of his field goals and 15-of-19 extra point attempts. For comparison’s sake, the 26-year-old made 87-percent of his field goal attempts in 2015.
Opinion: Vikings Should Have Traded For OT
- The Vikings should have traded for a tackle before the deadline, Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune opines. The Vikings were relying on fragile veteran Jake Long to hold down a starting tackle spot but that plan blew up in their face last week when he suffered an Achilles injury. Before that went down, Reusse believes that cap guru Rob Brzezinski should have figured out a way to carve out cap room to allow Minnesota to add a much-needed lineman. Now, Minnesota is forced to start T.J. Clemmings on the left side.
Vikings OT Jake Long Done For Season
Veteran Vikings offensive tackle Jake Long suffered a torn Achilles in the club’s loss to the Redskins, head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters, including Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (Twitter links). Long is likely finished for the season.
[RELATED: Minnesota Vikings Depth Chart]
Injuries have hit the Vikings hard dating back to training camp, when quarterback Teddy Bridgewater went down with a severe knee injury. Since that time, Minnesota has not only lost All Pro running back Adrian Peterson, but suffered a number of injuries along the offensive line. Both of the club’s starting tackles — Matt Kalil and Andre Smith — are already on injured reserve, while key reserve Mike Harris hasn’t played this season while dealing with an illness.
Backup options haven’t sufficed for the Vikings, as the club ranks dead last in adjusted line yards and 22nd in pass protection, according to Football Outsiders’ metrics. Second-string tackles T.J. Clemmings and Jeremiah Sirles have been among the worst blockers in the league, and will now face even more pressure to perform with Long on the sidelines.
Long, a former No. 1 overall pick, spent the 2015 season with the Falcons after signing on midway through September. The veteran was hoping to have a bounce-back season in Atlanta, but he wound up only appearing in four games and he didn’t start in any of those contests. Long, who tore his ACL during both the 2013 and 2014 campaigns, had started three games for the Vikings thus far.
Vikings Notes: Walsh, Turner
- The Vikings were auditioning kickers and pondering a move away from Blair Walsh, but it seems like he has gotten back on track in recent days. “I knew how he would react,” special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer said (via ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling). “It kind of lit a fire under him. He got ticked off in a good way, I think, because he’s a competitive young man. When you bring in guys that are potentially going to take your job, guys that want your job, that’s the way you want him to react. If he didn’t react that way, I would be really worried, and we probably would be looking for another guy. He got — I don’t want to say angry, but he got a little fired up in a very respectful way, just like he always is. I expect him to go out and kick well for us this weekend and the rest of the year.”
- Vikings quarterbacks coach Scott Turner, son of ex-offensive coordinator Norv Turner, told Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press on Friday that his father’s Nov. 2 resignation came as a surprise. “I knew that he was dealing with some issues, or whatever,” he said. “I thought that it was a possibility. I didn’t ever think he was actually going to do it, and then he told me about one minute before he told Mike Zimmer.” Scott Turner added that he’s unsure if his father will coach again. Norv Turner has been an NFL coach in every season since 1985, including head coaching stints with the Redskins, Raiders and Chargers.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/10/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: QB David Fales (Twitter link via Jeff Zriebec of the Baltimore Sun)
Detroit Lions
- Signed: TE Khari Lee
- Cut: CB D’Joun Smith
Minnesota Vikings
- Cut: OL Sean Hickey
Latest On Vikings’ Sharrif Floyd
Back in September, Sharrif Floyd had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, putting him on the shelf for a good while. Floyd is now back at the Vikings’ training facility after rehabbing the injury, but it’s not clear when he’ll be back in action, coach Mike Zimmer told reporters. 
“We didn’t think it was going to be six years’ worth of hurt,” the coach said (via Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune).
So far, it has been seven weeks since Floyd’s surgery and the clock is still ticking. The Vikings face the Redskins this Sunday, but it doesn’t sound like we should expect to see Floyd on the field. Minnesota is hoping that Floyd can get healthy sooner rather than later and shed his “injury prone” label. If he can’t, it seems possible that he could be put on IR and shut down for the year.
Floyd, 25, was a first-round pick in the 2013 draft. At the NFL level, he has appeared in 44 games with 24 starts, missing two games in 2014 and three games in 2015. With Floyd out, the Vikings have Shamar Stephen on the interior D-Line next to Linval Joseph. Behind them is veteran Tom Johnson, the only other true defensive tackle on the roster.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/9/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Scott Simonson, OT Pearce Slater
- Cut: TE Beau Sandland
- Placed On IR: DT Eric Crume
Chicago Bears
- Signed: OL Cornelius Edison
- Cut: OL Colin Kelly
Denver Broncos
- Signed: S Ryan Murphy
Houston Texans
- Signed: OL Jeff Adams
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Tevaun Smith
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: LB Earl Okine, CB Terrance Mitchell
- Cut: CB Tyler Patmon
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: TE MyCole Pruitt
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: CB Brian Dixon
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR George Farmer
Vikings Try Out Kickers
- Along with Randy Bullock and Kai Forbath, the Vikings hosted kickers Travis Coons, Zach Hocker, Marshall Koehn and Aldrick Rosas (Twitter link). For now, though, the team is sticking with the embattled Blair Walsh.
Vikings To Stick With Kicker Blair Walsh
The Vikings worked out multiple kickers today, but they won’t be signing any of them at this time. Minnesota is planning to stick with Blair Walsh, a league source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
In last year’s Wild Card round, Walsh missed a chip shot field goal at the end of the game and ended the Vikings’ season. Before that, he was 30-for-31 on field goal attempts inside of 30 yards for his career. Since then, Walsh’s struggles have continued.
Most recently, Walsh missed an extra point attempt and had a field goal blocked as the Vikings lost to the Lions 22-16. This season, Walsh is just 12-16 on field goal attempts, giving him a completion percentage that puts him in the bottom third of the NFL.
Kai Forbath and Randy Bullock were among the kickers to audition for Minnesota.