Vikings sign K Blair Walsh to 4-year, $14 million contract extension

When a team spends a draft pick on a specialist, that’s the expectation and Walsh has done nothing since coming out of the University of Georgia to fail to live up to the hype.

Blair Walsh has signed a contract extension with the Minnesota Vikings, the team announced Sunday.

His home-road splits from his first two seasons were not that concerning-Walsh missed three field goals at home and four on the road-but it’s still worth monitoring now that he’s being paid like a top-five kicker.

For his career, Walsh has 84.5 percent of his field goal attempts.

Last year was a down year for him, as his conversion rate dropped to just 74.3 (26-35).

Walsh told the team’s website: “I’m extremely excited to be a part of the Minnesota Vikings moving forward”. In the future, Walsh will likely only have good years ahead of him.

“It’s nice to have an extension, but at the same time it makes you hungry to prove everyone right and continue to perform like you have been performing, and that’s the way I approach things”, Walsh said.

The Vikings general Manager, Rick Spielman also released a team statement. “This extension stays true to our philosophy of drafting young talent, developing them in our system and rewarding their success”. With the Vikings having added deep threat Mike Wallace during the offseason and with running back Adrian Peterson returning, Walsh could see an uptick in scoring opportunities this coming season, a scenario that could see him re-emerge on the fantasy radar. “He’s made some great big kicks for our team, and he’s obviously going to be making a lot of them in the future”, linebacker Chad Greenway said.