Will Reichard hits game-winning field goal in first NFL game

Vikings rookie Will Reichard celebrated his first NFL game winner Saturday as he knocked through a 38-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Raiders.

And in doing so, he got a cool nickname — Walk-off Will.

WALK-OFF WILL!

📺: @FOX9 | @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/PrwN0jUwnC

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 10, 2024

Reichard’s first attempt of the day was no good. But we’ll remember the game winner. The Vikings were down 23-21. They got the ball back for one more series, as third-team quarterback Jaren Hall ran the offense.

Then Reichard calmly walked out and made the kick to the delight of the fans at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Reichard was a star at Alabama. The Crimson Tide star made 84 of his 100 field-goal attempts and was nearly perfect in career extra points, making all but two of his 297 tries. It’s all why he set an NCAA record for points scored with 547.

The Vikings selected him in the fifth round of April’s NFL Draft. He’s now the only kicker on the roster, so he’s earned his spot. Greg Joseph had been the Vikings kicker for the past three seasons. But he signed with the Packers in the off season.

Minnesota had been looking at XFL kicker John Parker Romo, who had spent time in a number of NFL training camps throughout his career. But the Vikings waived him earlier this summer, leaving Reichard as the only kicker.

Last week, Reichard told reporters that he wasn’t thinking about anything other than kicking.

“I’m just trying to put my best foot forward and trying to find the best version of myself every day I come out here and trying to get 1 percent better every single day,” the Vikings rookie said. Wherever that takes me, it sort of takes me. I’m just trying to find a way to be the best version of myself.”

Minnesota didn’t want to end its kicking competition before preseason games started. But the Vikings needed depth in the secondary, so they released Romo to sign defensive back Bobby McCain.