The Minnesota Vikings are moving on from kicker Dan Bailey, the team announced on Tuesday. Minnesota won't necessarily be looking to sign his replacement, as they signed Greg Joseph in February, but the Vikings made this decision since they did not want to pay Bailey's contract. According to Bailey's agent, Jordan Woy, the Vikings wanted to keep Bailey but were unable to agree to a renegotiated contract.
Bailey, who turned 33 in January, had spent the past three seasons in Minnesota. Things went south in 2020, however, which certainly played a role in this latest decision. In 16 games, Bailey converted on just 68.2 percent of his field goals and made just 86 percent of his extra points. Both marked career-lows for the veteran. He also hit a worrisome stretch in the regular season that almost caused the Vikings to replace him.
In the Vikings' Week 13, 27-24 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Bailey missed 2 of 3 extra-point attempts and also missed 1 of 3 field goals. The very next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he missed all four of his kicks -- one extra point and three field goals.
Bailey went undrafted out of Oklahoma State in 2011, but was picked up by the Dallas Cowboys. He remained in Dallas for seven seasons and made the Pro Bowl in 2015 after converting on 93.8 percent of his field goals and 100 percent of his extra-point attempts. Bailey joins an intriguing list of free agent kickers who are looking for new deals. Check out John Breech's list of top specialists on the open market, here.