Matthews was a fourth-round draft pick by Philadelphia in 2011 and played four years for the Eagles before signing a one-year contract with the Vikings.
Advertisement
You know things are getting weird when kickers are signing contract extensions on Snapchat.
The new deal was done on Sunday, the first day of training camp for the team.
Walsh told the team’s website: “I’m extremely excited to be a part of the Minnesota Vikings moving forward”.
The Vikings will hope Walsh’s consistency returns after a shaky 2014 campaign. I’d like to thank Rick Spielman, the Wilf family, Coach Zimmer, Coach Priefer and Rob Brzezinski for giving me this opportunity.
Walsh is now one of the highest-paid kickers in the NFL. “Blair has been a vital part of our special-teams success since we drafted him and we felt it was very important to secure his future with our organization”, GM Rick Spielman said of the 2012 sixth-rounder.
Walsh’s accuracy has waned since his incredible rookie Pro Bowl season, from 92.1 percent field-goal conversions in 2012 to 86.7 the following season and just 74.3 in 2014. “This extension stays true to our philosophy of drafting young talent, developing them in our system and rewarding their success”.
The Vikings did not disclose the terms of the deal, however, NBC Sports reports the contract is worth up to $14 million, with $5.25 million guaranteed.
Advertisement
The Vikings will begin the second and final season at the University of Minnesota’s outdoor stadium in September. “He’s made some great big kicks for our team, and he’s obviously going to be making a lot of them in the future”, linebacker Chad Greenway said.
