Minnesota Vikings End Special Teams Competition

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Ryan Wright, Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

There were very few prominent position battles waging into the final week of the Minnesota Vikings preseason. One position that did need a third preseason game to decide the winner was at punter, where incumbent Ryan Wright has been trying for months to hold off Australian undrafted rookie Oscar Chapman.

Wright has been the starting punter in Minnesota for three seasons. His numbers are ok. He averaged 46.5 yards per punt in 2024, and put 48.2% of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line, a career high. Chapman started 59 games as Auburn’s punter. He averaged 43.5 yards per punt during his five-year college career.

Oscar Chapman waived by MN Vikings, Ryan Wright wins job

On Monday, in a surprise move by the Vikings, Chapman was waived. As a result, the presumed winner of Minnesota’s punter competition is Wright, who now enters his fourth regular season as this team’s punter.

From all accounts, Oscar Chapman was a better punter than Ryan Wright throughout training camp and during the preseason. He can punt the football multiple different ways, and his punts are hard for returns to catch, as was made evident throughout the preseason.

But punting duties in the NFL these days usually go beyond kicking a dropped football a few times per game. Most punters, including those playing for the Vikings, must also be able to catch and hold footballs for placekicker, Will Reichard, to kick through the uprights during field goal attempts.

Unfortunately for Chapman, after a clean preseason to that point, he made one costly mistake during the Minnesota Vikings’ third exhibition game in Tennessee, bobbling a snap that forced Reichard’s timing to be slightly off. It was Will’s only miss of the preseason.

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Wright’s 46.5 yards per punt last season was a career low. His 40.5 net yards per punt was too. His touchback number did drop slightly in 2024 (8.9%), better than his 11.9% in 2023. Still, what happened to the Ryan Wright who posted a 1.4% touchback number as a rookie? We want that kid back…

Confusing decision on Chapman for MN Vikings

Because of the international player exemption allotted to all NFL teams, the Vikings could have kept Chapman on the practice squad without putting him through waivers or counting him against the 53-man roster.

Instead, the Vikings decided not to exercise that exemption, and straight waived him instead. That’s what makes this move odd. If holding was truly his issue, that seems like something they could have worked on developing trust and chemistry throughout the year.

Chapman has a unique punting style that often presents odd rotation patterns for return men to key in on. He appeared to be a superior punter in comparison to Wright, and Minnesota has seen the incumbents skills decline the past two years.

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This represents the second-straight season in which the Minnesota Vikings have brought in punting competition for Wright. Last year he bested Seth Vernon to hang onto the job. Maybe Minnesota will regret this move, or choose to bring Chapman back down the road? Time will tell.

The Minnesota Vikings also released depth offensive tackle Leroy Watson IV. That puts their roster at 77, meaning there are an additional 24 cuts yet to come.

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