The Vikings have added a second punter to their roster.
Minnesota signed free agent Seth Vernon, the organization announced on Tuesday.
Vernon most recently spent the 2022 summer and training camp with the Atlanta Falcons, where he was signed as an undrafted rookie. He was released on August 16, 2022. Vernon was a standout at Portland State, who are also known as the Vikings.
As a senior in 2021, he averaged 44.9 yards per punt. He averaged 54.8 yards on six punts in his sole game of the 2020 season (the rest were postponed due to the COVID-19 epidemic). In 2019, he averaged 43.2 yards per kick.
Vernon has 93 punts at Portland State, averaging 44.6 yards per kick. He had 27 punts within the 20-yard line and 29 punts of 50 yards or more.
Vernon’s career average is second in Portland State history. Vernon, a native of Santa Rosa, California, attended Maria Carrillo High School before beginning his scholastic career at Santa Rosa Junior College.
Vernon is the second punter on Minnesota’s roster. He joins Ryan Wright, who also was signed as an undrafted rookie in the spring of 2022. In 34 regular-season games for the Vikings, Wright has recorded 132 punts for 6,343 yards (48.1 average) with eight touchbacks and 49 punts downed inside the 20.
Vernon and Wright will be part of the Vikings’ specialized room, which also features veteran long snapper Andrew DePaola and two new kickers: John Parker Romo, who signed as a free agent this spring, and Will Reichard, whom the Vikings drafted 203rd overall out of Alabama.
