Report: Vikings Considering Symmank To Compete With Locke

We told you just a little bit ago that former Minnesota Vikings’ defensive tackle Kevin Williams signed a one-day deal with the team so that he could retire in purple. Ridiculously enough, Williams’ contract counts against the Vikings’ 90-man roster, so technically the team has 90 players right now. However, once Williams clears waivers tomorrow, it sounds like the Vikings might be doing something that a lot of fans have wanted to see for this entire offseason.

Bringing in some punting competition.

According to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Vikings are considering bringing in former Texas Tech punter Taylor Symmank to compete with incumbent Jeff Locke once Williams officially comes off the books on Thursday.

Symmank, along with West Virginia punter Nick O’Toole, was brought in by the Vikings during mini-camp season, but ultimately was not signed with the team. He averaged 46 yards per punt last season for the Red Raiders, but only punted 33 times. He missed four games as the result of a hip injury.

And hey, you want some punter highlights? Well, WE’VE GOT PUNTER HIGHLIGHTS! (And it appears that Symmank does some kickoff work as well.)

Outside of that video, I don’t know a whole lot about Taylor Symmank myself. I do know that if the team wants him to replace Locke, he’s going to have to show that he can handle holds (unless the team wants to let a backup quarterback like Shaun Hill handle those duties) as well as beat out Locke in the punting competition. Still, after the past couple of seasons, it would appear that the Vikings are looking to patch up what might be the most significant hole on their roster right now.