Riley Patterson is a rookie. He's a kicker. He wasn't drafted. He spent the first 15 days of Vikings training camp nursing an injured left foot while on the Physically Unable to Perform list. And, oh yeah, he works for Mike Zimmer, an old-school coach not known for being patient with kickers.
"Yeah," said Patterson, "being a rookie, it felt like I was in that training room forever trying to get better."
With his plant foot now healed, Patterson has three practices on his NFL resume. Friday, he said he, "feels awesome." Saturday, he began the team's place-kicking competition, making field goals from 36 and 49 yards as Greg Joseph went before him and was good from 35 and 47 yards.
Patterson and Joseph — a journeyman who's played 16 NFL games, none since 2019 – were getting their first look at U.S. Bank Stadium as a smattering of fans watched. Whether one of them has the mental fortitude to repeat Saturday's success when the place is packed and the real pressure is on remains to be seen.
Zimmer, however, is willing, for now at least, to let these two greenhorns slug it out. And, yes, Zim, for now at least, seems OK with the possibility of naming a 22-year-old undrafted rookie as his kicker.
"That's up to [Patterson]," Zimmer said. "Everybody says I don't like rookies. I like rookies. If they're the best players, I want them to play."
Three years ago, a rookie named Daniel Carlson was the best kicker. Very quickly, he was not.
Drafted higher than any other kicker in team history, the fifth-round pick aced Week 1. Week 2 at Lambeau Field will live in infamy in Vikings lore.