"I was comfortable enough with where I was coming out of training camp, I felt healthy, I felt like I was striking the ball well," Bailey said. "They decided to go a different direction, so for me, it was about being patient and waiting for the right opportunity. It's hard to say if I would have waited longer, but that was kind of my game plan going into it. I'm fortunate that this opportunity came up, and I took advantage." Bailey kicked 186 of 211 field goals (a career percentage of 88.2 that is second in NFL history) and 276 of 278 extra points through the uprights in seven seasons with Dallas. He had a groin injury that caused him to miss four games in 2017. He was 15 of 20 on field goals and 26 of 28 on extra points last season. Four of the five missed field goals occurred after he returned from injury. "[I] just didn't really finish the year like I wanted, so that was tough," Bailey said. "That was the first time I've ever missed any time, I think going back to high school. I've been very fortunate, haven't had any injuries throughout my career, so that was the first time of dealing with that. I'm not going to say I came back too soon. I think I was definitely ready to go back out and compete. "I think maybe the rhythm was skewed a little bit from taking that time off and trying to jump right back into being at the top of my game," Bailey said. "I don't know that I would do anything differently. Obviously, I was disappointed with how it ended, but I also look at the first half of that season when I was healthy, and I feel like I performed really well, so I've tried to focus more on that and carried that into the offseason. I thought I had a really good offseason, a good camp, so I'm excited to move forward." Bailey began working with long snapper Kevin McDermott and holder/punter Matt Wile on Wednesday. Wile previously worked with Bailey during the Cowboys training camp in 2016. "Kevin is obviously really good at what he does," Bailey said. "[Matt] was in camp when I was in Dallas, so I don't see it being too big of an issue. Definitely something we need to jump on today, but those guys are pros. They've been doing it, so we'll get it sorted out."<doc-sep>Podcast 493765341 Listen: Inside the Vikings' change at kicker with veteran Dan Bailey Ben Goessling and Andrew Krammer discuss the Vikings' move at kicker after rookie Daniel Carlson was waived. (5:00) On why Dan Bailey was available, and what he brings to the Vikings. (16:00) The woeful Bills come to town this Sunday. (25:00) Gauging Pat Elflein's timeline to return. (30:00) Your Twitter questions on defensive back playing time, issues on grass fields and the receivers.<doc-sep>EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings changed up their special teams unit on Tuesday by signing kicker Dan Bailey. The roster move came after the Vikings released kicker Daniel Carlson, who was a fifth-round pick in 2018. Bailey was a Pro Bowl selection in 2015 and has a career-long field goal of 56 yards. Bailey spent seven seasons with the Cowboys (2011-17) and was released by Dallas on Sept. 1, 2018. Here are five things to know about the newest Minnesota Viking: 1. Accuracy Bailey has made 186 of 211 career field goals, good for an accuracy rate of 88.2 percent. That is the second-best percentage by an NFL kicker in league history. Bailey has made 154 of 166 field goals (92.7 percent) from 49 or fewer yards in his career. He is 27 out of 40 on kicks 50 yards or longer. 2. Nearly perfect Bailey has made 97 of 99 extra point attempts since the NFL moved the kick to a 33-yard distance in 2015. 3. A former Cowboy The 30-year-old spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Cowboys and played in 108 career games. Dallas opted to keep former Canadian Football League kicker Brett Maher after the 2018 preseason. 4. A former Cowboy (x2) Bailey played collegiately at Oklahoma State from 2007 to 2010. He made 57 of 72 career field goals for the Cowboys and was successful on 199 of 201 extra points. Bailey won the Lou Groza Award for college football's top kicker after kicking 24 of 28 field goals and 65 of 66 extra points in 2010. 5. Prep star<doc-sep>The Vikings could get Pat Elflein back on the field this week The Vikings could get Pat Elflein back on the field this week by Adam Patrick NFL Experts weigh in on Vikings chances of Week 3 win vs Bills by Adam Carlson The history of the Minnesota Vikings and their kickers is not one that the franchise has many fond memories of, especially when they have needed them the most. Ever since that fateful day in the 1998 NFC Championship when Minnesota Vikings kicker Gary Anderson missed a field goal that would have likely vaulted the team into the Super Bowl, there has been some sort of dark kicking cloud hanging over the franchise. Many are aware of the major missed field goals by Anderson, Blair Walsh, and now Daniel Carlson over the years. But the Vikings have been dealing with kickers missing important field goals for most of the 21st century. In 2002, Minnesota brought in veteran Doug Brien to replace Anderson. Well, Brien’s stint as the Vikings’ field goal kicker lasted a whole two games. He made all of his kicks in Minnesota’s Week 1 game. But in Week 2, Brien missed a 44-yard field goal attempt and two extra point tries as the Vikings went on to lose in overtime to the Buffalo Bills. After losing to the Bills, Minnesota gave Anderson a call and quickly re-signed the 43-year-old to come back and kick field goals for them. Then came Aaron Elling in 2003. Signed as a free-agent, the Vikings took a chance on Elling, who had never kicked in an NFL regular season game prior to 2003. Remember that infamous Week 17 loss that the Vikings had against the Arizona Cardinals that knocked Minnesota out of a spot in the playoffs? Well the Vikings lost that game by one point and Elling missing a kick in the second quarter could have prevented that from happening. Even the talented Ryan Longwell couldn’t escape the grasp of Minnesota’s kicking curse. Back in 2007, Longwell and the Vikings were facing the Detroit Lions in a Week 2 divisional matchup. With the game tied at 17 in the fourth quarter, Minnesota drove down to the Lions’ 34-yard line to attempt a game-winning 52-yard field goal. But Longwell ended up missing the kick and the two teams went into overtime where Detroit was able to get a 20-17 win thanks to their kicker actually making a 37-yard field goal. So this whole missing kicks thing isn’t just something the Vikings save for the playoffs. Minnesota’s kickers have ripped their fans’ hearts out on numerous occasions in the regular season over the past 15-plus years too. After dealing with the downfall of Blair Walsh during the early part of his career with the team, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer quickly made sure this week that Daniel Carlson was not about to be the next kicker to cost his team a chance at greatness this season. To replace Carlson, Minnesota was able to sign veteran kicker Dan Bailey. Before joining the Vikings this week, Bailey spent the first seven seasons of his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys where he made 88.2 percent of his field goal attempts (including 91.7 percent during games played indoors). Zimmer commented on Wednesday that ever since he became Minnesota’s head coach in 2014, the team has been trying to get the kicking position, “solidified.” Breaking news coach, the franchise has been trying to fix their problem with kickers for a lot longer. So will Bailey be what Zimmer is hoping for and actually provide the Vikings with a solid kicking performance in 2018? Time will tell, but Minnesota’s new kicker has as good a chance as any before him to break the curse that has provided the franchise with way too many forgettable moments than they could have ever asked for.<doc-sep>
The Vikings felt they had to upgrade their place-kicking before the season started. They didn’t think they’d have to do it again after two games. The Vikings signed Dan Bailey to be their place-kicker on Tuesday, and if he had been available last spring, they would have done it earlier, special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said. “Dan Bailey would have been the type of guy to upgrade that spot this offseason,” Priefer said before practice Thursday at TCO Performance Center in Eagan. “He wasn’t available. We looked at some other guys. Some other guys signed for big money other places.” So, Priefer said, the Vikings set their sights on the best rookie they could find in the draft. That was Daniel Carlson, for whom they traded into the fifth round. Carlson made 80.7 percent of his field goal attempts, and all 198 point-after tries, at Auburn and beat incumbent Kai Forbath in training camp. The rest is bitter history. Carlson’s three misses, two in overtime, last Sunday were the difference between a win and a 29-29 tie in Green Bay. Bailey, 30, hit 88.2 percent of his field goal attempts in seven seasons in Dallas – second-best in NFL history – before being waived before the regular season started. “In the NFL, as you know, you’re always looking to get better,” Priefer said. “Kai had a good, solid year for us, but sometimes he kicked it too low. He missed too many PATs. He was not as strong on kickoffs.” Carlson made all three of his PAT tries for the Vikings before pushing his three field goal attempts wide right on Sunday. Two of those kicks would have completed an epic comeback victory, the last a 35-yard attempt with four seconds left. “To miss all three right, that was the tough part for me,” Priefer said. “In that situation there, you’ve got to at least correct the last one. And it was 35 yards right down the middle.” Carlson wasn’t the only problem with special teams on Sunday. The Packers took an early 7-0 lead when a blocked Vikings punt turned into a touchdown. An extra rusher on the right side created a numbers mismatch and an inside defender split the line to block the kick with relative ease. “It’s a look we (practiced) all week,” Priefer said. “In fact, we did it prior to both (Packers) games last year because that’s one of the looks they gave us. They executed, we didn’t – that’s what it boiled down to. We didn’t do a good enough job getting our depth, and that’s going to be corrected.” Priefer believes the kicking issue will be corrected, as well. Bailey worked extensively with long snapper Kevin McDermott and holder Matt Wile on Wednesday, and was scheduled to do it again on Thursday. The Vikings are host to the Buffalo Bills at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday. “He’ll kick off with the team today, kick field goals with the team today, and then we’ll be ready for Sunday,” Priefer said.