Good kickers are hard to come by in the NFL (just ask the Los Angeles Chargers), but Baltimore Ravens somehow ended with two of them on their roster entering the 2019 NFL season. One of them had to go, and it sure wouldn’t be Justin Tucker, the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
Ravens announced over the weekend that they had traded kicker Kaare Vedvik to Minnesota Vikings for an undisclosed draft pick.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter, however, reports that the pick in question is a fifth-rounder in 2020.
Vedvik caught the attention of kicker-needy teams last week when he made all four of his attempted field goals in Ravens’ preseason game including one from 55 yards. Several teams approached Baltimore to explore trade talks for the 25-year-old, including Chicago Bears, but Minnesota made the best offer.
It isn’t often that teams are willing to trade such a high pick for a kicker. The most recent similar trade took place in 1996 when Kansas City Chiefs traded a fifth-round pick for Miami Dolphins’ Pete Stoyanovich.
Kaare Vedvik was a highly sought after player in 2018 as well, with teams being intrigued by his accuracy and ability to play as a punter as well. Unfortunately, he suffered a non-football injury during the preseason and was forced to miss the entire 2018 season.
