EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Injuries to All-Pro long snapper Andrew DePaola and rookie kicker Will Reichard had the Minnesota Vikings assessing their options Monday for temporary replacements in an midseason disruption to what has been one of the NFL' s most productive kicking operations.
DePaola will have minor surgery on his hand and need to be placed on short-term injured reserve, coach Kevin O'Connell said. Reichard has a quadriceps injury that was being evaluated by the medical staff, with his availability for the next game still being determined and a possibility he'll need a sub too.
DePaola, who was a Pro Bowl selection in each of the past two years and also an AP All-Pro pick for 2023, hasn't missed a game since joining the Vikings (6-2) midway through the 2020 season. The 37-year-old must miss a minimum of four games on IR.
Reichard, the team's sixth-round draft pick out of Alabama, was 14 for 14 on field goals and 20 for 20 on extra points over the first seven games. He pulled a 53-yard try wide right and hit a 31-yard attempt off the right upright in the second quarter Sunday against Indianapolis, misses the Vikings believed were affected by the injury he aggravated at some point in the first half.
“You’d love to have him continue on the fabulous trajectory he’s been on really since he arrived here,” O’Connell said. “These things come up. We’ll go through the process here of making sure we put together the best plan to make sure we have him full and doing what he’s doing all season long really up until last night.”
Reichard's field goal rate (94.9%) trails only Pittsburgh's Chris Boswell and Washington's Austin Seibert in the league among kickers with at least 15 attempts. Reichard is one of four kickers with at least 20 attempts to make every extra point this season.
With DePaola's help, Vikings punter Ryan Wright also ranks second in the NFL with 53.6% of his attempts landing inside the 20-yard line.
The Vikings also announced that left tackle Christian Darrisaw had surgery Monday to repair the ACL and MCL in his left knee after suffering the season-ending injury in the game on Oct. 24. Darrisaw's procedure was done by head team physician Dr. Chris Larson.
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Dave Campbell, The Associated Press
