You may have heard that the Vikings released punter Ryan Quigley and replaced him by signing punter Matt Wile.
Wile, 26, has attempted just 12 punts through two seasons in the NFL, all of them coming in split time with the Falcons and Cardinals in 2016. He was out of the NFL in 2017 and most recently was with the Steelers throughout training camp and the preseason.
In just four career games, Wile has a career long of 59 yards while averaging 46.1 yards per punt. But he was pretty good with the Steelers this preseason, punting eight times for an average of 49.0 yards. He also placed four punts inside the 20-yard line and didn’t have any touchbacks.
2nd highest graded in the preseason per PFF. Also the 2nd highest hangtime in the preseason, while Quigley’s was third worst. That probably had a lot to do with the punt coverage issues.
This could be a massive upgrade if the preseason’s small sample data bears out https://t.co/zmWPPYzOdV
— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) September 2, 2018
Wile played his college football at Michigan where he was a punter and place kicker for three seasons before focusing solely on place kicking as a senior. He made 20 of 29 career field goals in college, so if rookie Daniel Carlson goes down for any reason, Wile at least has some experience.
He also has a dog named Coop.
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