Kicker Dan Bailey is returning to Minnesota. He has agreed to a three-year deal worth $10 million. Bailey spent the last two years with the Vikings.
The #Vikings have agreed to terms with K Dan Bailey.
?: https://t.co/s4aykfoRJS pic.twitter.com/nFmmyYqRWy
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) March 19, 2020
Dan Bailey Re-Signs With Minnesota Vikings
Bailey had one of his more efficient years on field goals in a while in 2019. He went 27-for-29, and missed only two field goals for the first time since 2015. However, he was oddly far less efficient, going 40-for-44. The 90.9 percentage was the worst of his career in extra points. His longest field goal of the season was 50 yards.
Bailey played football in high school at Southwest Covenant School in Yukon, Oklahoma. In college he played with Oklahoma State, and in 2010 he won the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year Award. Despite that, he went undrafted in 2011 and wasn’t signed until July – by the Dallas Cowboys. He won the kicker job and held onto it, quickly asserting himself by making six field goals in Week 3 – the third rookie in NFL history to do so.
Bailey remained with the Cowboys through 2017. Most of his years there (save for his final season) were quite good. His best year came in 2015 when he went 30-for-32 on field goals, and made his lone Pro Bowl in 2015. He also made Second-Team All-Pro. He became the franchise leader in field goals made and at one point was the most accurate kicker in NFL history (currently at sixth).
After having his worst season in 2017, he was cut by the Cowboys just before the 2018 season (which was still a surprise). He was signed by the Vikings after Week 2. He had an even worse year in 2018, missing seven field goals – a personal record. However, he improved for the better in 2019 and will be looking to keep that going in 2020.
Thus far in his career, Bailey has gone 234-for-268 on field goals (87.3%), and gone 346-for-353 on extra points (98%).
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