Vikings, Mike Zimmer have another big question mark at kicker

Mike Zimmer smiled when he heard what's become an all-too-familiar question during his eight seasons as Vikings head coach.

So, Mike, how nervous are you about your kicker?

"Not too nervous, really," Zimmer said.

Really? That doesn't sound like the same Pepto-Bismol-guzzling guy who's suffered openly through his share of agonizing misses. Misses like Blair Walsh's infamous 27-yard duck hook in the closing seconds of the 2015 wild-card loss to Seattle. Or Daniel Carlson's 0-fer meltdown at Green Bay and his ensuing release after only two games as the highest-drafted kicker in team history in 2018. Or even the normally steady Dan Bailey missing 10 kicks in the final five games to lose his job at the end of last season.

"Honestly, I've come to know that kickers are going to miss kicks," Zimmer said. "You know? Since I've been here, we've missed kicks. It's not new."

In other words, grab a swig from Zim's jug of antacid and get ready for whatever becomes of the Greg Joseph Era.

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, the 27-year-old journeyman is on his sixth team in three years since going undrafted out of Florida Atlantic University in 2018. Joseph hasn't kicked in a meaningful game since the 2019 postseason with Tennessee, and spent last year on Tampa Bay's practice squad.

Joseph didn't exactly wow the Vikings in training camp practices or the preseason, either. He missed both attempts from beyond 50 yards but essentially won the job by default when a foot injury limited rookie Riley Patterson's summer to just two field goal attempts in a team scrimmage.

So, welcome to Minnesota, Greg. Why should we believe you have the mental fortitude to make it in the NFL kicking for a head coach who's notoriously impatient, especially when it comes to kickers?

"I have a short memory, I'm confident in myself, I believe in myself," said Joseph, who made his other four preseason field goal attempts and all three PATs. "And just that belief that I haven't reached my potential yet is exciting. It keeps me going and keeps me up and at it, busting my butt."

Irrepressibly positive, Joseph credits his Jewish faith for the permanent smile on his face and the drive to survive being cut once as a walk-on freshman at FAU and three more times in three years by the Dolphins, Browns and Titans.

"I believe that there's a plan and we're all following that plan," Joseph said. "I'm doing my best and thanking God every day for putting me in this position. I've been extremely blessed in this life and whatever is meant to be for me will come for me, and whatever is not meant to be for me will not come for me. That helps me sleep at night. Whatever happens, everything is going to be all right."

Blessing in disguise

A former soccer player and perhaps Manchester United's No. 1 fan, Joseph wasn't introduced to American football until his junior year of high school, almost 10 years after he moved with his parents, Glen and Ilana, to West Boca Raton, Fla., to get way from South Africa's political environment and be near Ilana's family.

"Greg and I used to drive to school every day," said Troy Manheimer, a friend of Joseph's from American Heritage High in Delray Beach. "I was a year ahead of Greg. The football coach talked me into kicking for him my junior year, but my senior year, my club soccer coach wouldn't let me play football."

The football coach was in a bind. He needed a kicker.

"He asked me to find him a kicker," Manheimer said. "Greg's a big kid with a big leg. He was on my club soccer team, but I don't think he was as serious about soccer as I was. So I figured he could replace me as the kicker and do really well. Considering where he is now, I guess it all worked out."

Joseph became an accomplished kicker while winning a state title. Then he went right down the road to Boca Raton and gave it a go at Florida Atlantic.

"Getting cut as a freshman walk-on was a blessing in disguise," Joseph said. "I took that fall season, worked with a coach as much as I could. Put my head down, came back and made it. That helped shape me as a man, as a student, as a kicker. I'm thankful for that."

Joseph left FAU as the Owls' career leader in field goals made (57), points scored (336) and PATs made (165). He also set the school record for longest field goal (54 yards). And, oh yeah, the extra year in school also enabled him to graduate early and pursue his MBA, which he completed in 2019.

The Dolphins signed him as an undrafted rookie. He went 3-for-3 on preseason field goal attempts but couldn't beat out fellow rookie and draft pick Jason Sanders.

"I went back home and kept working," Joseph said.

Sixteen days later, the Browns signed him after he won a tryout battle with multiple kickers, including Walsh. Joseph replaced Zane Gonzalez, who missed two field goals and two PATs in a 21-18 loss at New Orleans the day before.

Three weeks later, Joseph kicked a 37-yard field goal in overtime to give the Browns a 12-9 win over the Ravens in Cleveland. The kick was partially blocked but still went through.

"He had some bad kicks that went in that year," Manheimer said. "Maybe that's why they got rid of him. But from my experience, I think that if your bad kicks are going in, that's a good sign."

No. 1 for the first time

Joseph made 17 of 20 field goal attempts and 25 of 29 PATs that year. The Browns still drafted a kicker, Austin Seibert, in the fifth round the next spring.

"They not only drafted a kicker, but he was from Oklahoma, and I think he was a buddy of the quarterback [Baker Mayfield]," Manheimer said. "Greg's time with the Browns was interesting."

Joseph's take on being cut that summer?

"I just went back home and kept working," he said.

It wasn't until Nov. 25 that Carolina signed him to its practice squad. A month later, a desperate Titans team signed him after waiving Ryan Santoso and placing Ryan Succop on injured reserve.

Joseph never missed a kick for the Titans, going 9 for 9 on PATs in the regular season and 9 for 9 on PATs and 1 for 1 on field goals in the postseason.

Eight months later, he was waived again as the Titans signed Stephen Gostkowski. Joseph landed on Tampa Bay's practice squad. He was activated for one game but did not attempt a kick.

Joseph said getting cut in Tennessee "took me on another journey. I got to met a lot of great people. And what an amazing ride, winning the Super Bowl."

And now, for the first time in his career, Joseph heads into a season as a team's No. 1 kicker.

Nervous, Greg?

"No, because I've always believed I can do this ever since my junior year at FAU and people started putting me on all those preseason lists," he said. "I was like, 'OK, I came this far. I rode this crazy ride in college, from being cut to being put on scholarship to being the starting kicker for four years.'

"Now, my thought process is, 'Why stop now?' I'm not taking no for an answer because I have not reached my ceiling. I'm never not going to keep trying. That's just not who I am."

Can he keep Zimmer's stomach acid from doing flip-flops? We'll find out together starting Sunday in Cincinnati.